With Rangers’ woeful opening day defeat to Kilmarnock still fresh in the memory, Cyriel Dessers’ lacklustre performance has plenty fearing the worst in the early part of the season.
Rangers signed a reported £5.5m deal to bring the former Feyenoord striker to Glasgow from Cremonese and so far fans are yet to be convinced by the Belgian-born Nigerian international.
Speaking during Rangers’ hugely underwhelming pre-season, Cyriel Dessers appeared to explain away his laboured performances by claiming that he was not fully fit due to an injury sustained earlier in the year.
Against Kilmarnock, with the club’s best chance falling to the striker, a lack of fitness was evident and Rangers’ uninventive forward line toiled to break down a stubborn side at Rugby Park.
Rangers need Cyriel Dessers to replace 18-goal influence
No-one is writing anyone off at this early stage, but it’s clear Rangers’ new number 9 was signed with the intention of playing and scoring goals and so far the big man looks a mile off doing either effectively.
Whilst there remains plenty of hope that Cyriel Dessers will find his shooting boots in the coming months, Rangers fans will be hoping the club’s title hopes haven’t evaporated by then as the nerves jangle at Ibrox.
Performances may well be fleeting in the early part of Michael Beale’s rebuild but results quite simply can’t be and fans may well point to the exit of Antonio Colak earlier in the summer.
Rangers made a small profit when the big Croatian hitman left in a £2.5m deal for Parma but Colak took 18 goals out the door with him in the process.
Whilst Colak wasn’t everyone’s cup of tea, least of all Michael Beale’s it would appear, those 18 goals are a sizeable chunk and it was the Croatian who fired the club through Champions League qualification last season.
If Dessers is the man who is being relied upon to do the same this year, then we’ll need to see a sharp increase in intensity from the forward starting this week.
Rangers’ season relying on early returns
With Servette coming to Ibrox on Wednesday evening, expectation is certainly rising and Rangers are expected to do the business against the Swiss. But at the moment it’s hard to see where the goals are coming from.
With Fashion Sakala’s 12 goals also boarding a flight to Saudi Arabia, and Malik Tillman’s dozen off to PSV Eindhoven, these are huge returns to plug in the coming season.
Throw another 12 Alfredo Morelos goals and the disappointing return of only three from Ryan Kent in the last campaign and suddenly there are 57 strikes out of the team and as things stand, 0 in.
Rangers’ new-look frontline might need time to settle but with fitness fears around Cyriel Dessers in particular, by the time the ex-Feyenoord man finally does the season could’ve careered into an unpleasant direction.
