Rangers’ opening offer for Cyriel Dessers was reportedly ‘not even close’ to the fee Cremonese expect for a striker who scored six Serie A goals last season.
While Atalanta were happy to let Sam Lammers secure a cut-price switch to Ibrox last week – the Dutchman’s move confirmed on Wednesday afternoon – Cremonese are clearly not feeing quite so charitable.
Cyriel Dessers, according to The Herald, is keen to join fellow Eredivisie export Lammers in Glasgow. Things appear to have grown cold since Rangers saw a £3 million opening bid rejected, however. One that, to quite La Provincia di Cremona, was ‘not even close’ to matching Cremonese’s demands.
Mick Beale and co may have been hoping that Cremonese’s relegation from Italy’s top-flight would force them to let Dessers go on the cheap. No such luck. La Cremo are holding out for £7 million, with Torino now joining Rangers in pursuit of the Belgian-born Nigeria international (TuttoSport).
Rangers face frustration in Cyriel Dessers race
The Gers, then, may need to more than double their opening offer if they are to secure the services of a genuine penalty box poacher who scored 20 goals on loan at Feyenoord in 2021/22, half of those coming in the Conference League as Arne Slot’s side reached the inaugural final.
Calciomercato reported earlier this month that Rangers were weighing up a new and improved bid worth £4.2 million, rising to £5.2 million. That is still likely to fall short of Cremonese’s demands, however.
“If he is a first-choice striker for Rangers, he’ll score a lot,” former Rangers, Juventus and Italy defender Sergio Porrini tells the Scottish Express of Dessers.
More of an out-and-out goalscorer than the stylish, cerebral Lammers, Dessers would be under pressure to emulate the impact of Alfredo Morelos at Ibrox. The Colombian is leaving next month, with a move to Russia on the cards.
“Cyriel has big shoes to fill in Alfredo Morelos,” Porrini adds. It’s not easy to replace a player who has done so well, but I’m sure Cyriel can more than replace him. He’s the sort of player the fans will love. He’s played in a number of good leagues and scored goals. He’ll be confident in his ability.
“He can score more than 20 goals, I’m sure of that. Fifteen goals would be the first target. But, if he starts well, I wouldn’t be surprised to see him score more than 20.”
