He may have his critics on the Ibrox terraces but, according to Rangers teammate Nedim Bajrami, the dressing room remains firmly behind one of the club’s most opinion-splitting players of modern times.
The £4.5 million signing from Cremonese is now one goal shy of 40 in Rangers colours.
He took his tally to 17 for the current campaign when Cyriel Dessers stunned Manchester United in the Europa League on Thursday night; Outmuscling the granite-carved Harry Maguire, taking the ball down with a touch of Berbatov-esque balleticism before finishing with a laser-guided accuracy.
Genuinely, how many of the other players in Philippe Clement’s squad could produce a rabbit-out-of-the-hat moment of magic quite as show-stopping as this?
By his own admission, Dessers has struggled to get used to his new role in Rangers’ plans. He slipped behind Hamza Igamane and Danilo in the pecking order in the build up Christmas.
Cyriel Dessers scored a hat-trick against Fraserburgh in the Scottish Cup last weekend but that was only his second start since the beginning of December.
The Belgium-born Nigeria international understandably wanted talks with the Ibrox bosses, then. Especially the likes of Cagliari, Empoli and Leganes reportedly offering him a fresh start away from the Gers bench.
Rangers striker Cyriel Dessers backed by Ibrox teammate Nedim Bajrami
Nedim Bajrami insists that Dessers retains the support of the Rangers dressing room, however, even if some in the crowd lost their patience a while ago.
His stunning cameo away to Manchester United is proof enough of the qualities Dessers brings to the table, even if consistency remains elusive.
“I think the last month has not been easy for him,” Bajrami says ahead of Sunday’s Premiership clash with Dundee United. “But he’s still been trying to help the team on and off the pitch. He deserves his goal today and everyone was happy for him,” he added.
“Yeah, I hope everyone stays. But, at the end of the day, he has to choose. This is football.”
While the explosive Igamane has 12 goals in his last 15 appearances, Dessers is still on track to become Rangers’ top scorer for the second time in two seasons on Scottish soil.
That electrifying Old Trafford finish, defender Robin Propper adds, was a timely reminder of what the Gers would lose if a deal for Dessers is agreed in the final days of the window.
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“[But] Cyriel’s goal was a huge moment. It was an amazing finish. I’m obviously behind it and when you see the away fans celebrating… It was a fantastic goal,” Propper smiles.
“That goal is what Cyriel’s capable of, for sure. You can see how good he is when he’s in contact with defenders. You see how good his touch is and of course the clean finish. It was amazing. As a defender, it’s great to know I have really good strikers in front of me.”
Even as the frustration set in, Dessers has remained nothing but uber-professional. A point Clement was keen to make when paying tribute to his oft-maligned number nine shortly after Bruno Fernandes broke Rangers hearts in Manchester.
“[Dessers] did really well and he showed again his great mentality,” Clement told reporters. “What he showed for every second that I’ve been in the building. I never saw a different Cyriel in any circumstances.
“Of course you know you score a very good goal and then you see that it’s not the decisive one, otherwise he would have been the hero and we spoke about that. People could become heroes today, so [Dessers was] really close to becoming a hero.”
