Rangers pre-season didn’t quite go to plan in terms of fluency of performance but it was enough for one of Philippe Clement’s stars to brush off the cobwebs.
With two goals in his last two games, Cyriel Dessers has hit form at the right time with key Champions League qualifiers on the horizon.
Danilo has yet to feature competitively and Hamza Igamane is still not available for selection as he adapts to a higher intensity level of football for the first time.
Cyriel Dessers in Rangers exit that sees return to Serie A question
Dessers is the man for Rangers in more ways than one but speculation linking the Nigeria international with a return to Italy have been played down.
Writing for Soccernet, a Nigerian football outlet, Ayomide Oguntimehin, has claimed that the Serie A outfit won’t be making an offer – yet:
“Soccernet.ng has been told that the Nigerian international was initially targeted by the club early in the summer, but with the signing of Roberto Piccoli, Dessers is no longer seen as a viable option for the team.
“Furthermore, in the final days of the transfer window, the former Feyenoord forward could resurface as a target, but this largely hinges on whether Gianluca Lapadula leaves the club.”
On his current form and given the current situation, Rangers would be unlikely to sell Dessers immediately, despite initial reports that he is one of a number of players who could leave Ibrox.
With 30 goal contributions last season, the 29-year old had a solid season on paper, however, as seen against Hearts on matchday one, when he was needed most, he frequently went awol in front of goal.
Dessers might be sold but the time isn’t right for Rangers
Against Dynamo Kyiv, we saw the best of him, and he put in the sort of display that sees a temporary suspension of frustration.
The manager was also clearly impressed with his number nine when asked if his side deserved a draw in Poland:
“We have several new players now and they did it. Vaclav was directly important with his assist and Cyriel also kept on pushing to get the goal because he had a few chances that he finished very well and the goalkeeper saved really well. So he kept on believing and I’m happy for him that he scored the goal.
“If you compare him with seven months ago he does much more things, really good for the team.
“Maybe people have a perception about him but I know there are no defenders anymore who like to play against him and he’s only growing so that’s what we want.”
In the last two games, Cyriel Dessers has looked like a £4.5m striker and it is easy to see why clubs would be interested.
Rangers could do a lot of work in the transfer market with that sort of money given that this is the fee they are hoping for, should the forward leave.
Had Danilo and Igamane been up to speed, it might be a different matter, until then though, even if Calgiari change their mind, Dessers should be staying put.
