Any player who has found himself suddenly out of favour, and linked with a move away, could do worse than to take a leaf out of this Rangers star’s playbook.
Nearly three weeks ago, reports emerged claiming that Rangers had opened talks to sell Cyriel Dessers before the close of the January transfer window.
Dessers then cast doubt on his own future at Ibrox, admitting that he planned to hold ‘talks’ with the Rangers bosses after slipping behind both Hamza Igamane and Danilo in Philippe Clement’s pecking order.
Now, as Gers icon Kris Boyd explained, Dessers is not the sort to ‘throw his toys out the pram’. Rather than slap down a transfer request and set fire to those proverbial bridges, the experienced, well-travelled centre-forward got his head down, puffed his chest out, and responded with some of the best form of his Scottish football career.
Dessers scored a ‘sensational’ goal at Manchester United in the Europa League a week after finding the net in similarly eye-catching circumstances in that 3-0 hammering of Aberdeen. Two wonderful finishes which sandwiched his Scottish Cup hat-trick against Fraserburgh.
Empoli confirm striker plan as Cyriel Dessers fights back at Rangers
Now, Dessers has always been the sort of striker who makes the simple look difficult and the difficult look simple. He added another net-busting bomb of a finish to his collection as Rangers fought back to beat Dundee United on Sunday, lashing into the top corner from an almost impossible angle.
Suddenly, with Philippe Clement full of praise for Dessers’ professionalism and quality, and with Danilo injured again, speculation regarding an imminent departure from Ibrox has quietened down.
Atlanta United are going full steam ahead for Middlesbrough’s Emmanuel Latte Lath. Cagliari cannot afford to bring Dessers back to Italy on a permanent basis. St Etienne are prioritising younger options.
One team who may still be in the mix, however, is Empoli.
The Serie A strugglers are averaging fewer than a goal a game this term. And, speaking after a 1-1 draw with Bologna, coach Roberto D’Aversa admitted that an addition to the centre-forward department is a must before the close of the window.
“There were seven [youth team] players in our squad [for the Bologna game],” bemoans D’Aversa. “As strikers at the moment, we have [only Lorenzo] Colombo and [Sebastiano] Esposito. We need numbers [up front]. The club knows it.
“I only think about coaching. I am living the market with serenity. I think about improving these guys, the club takes care of the market.”
Serie A and La Liga suitors switch focus to Fiorentina ace
Interestingly, in their latest update regarding Empoli’s pursuit of a new striker, Tuttomercatoweb claim that the Tuscany-based outfit are pushing hard to bring Christian Kouame to the Stadio Carlo Castellani from Fiorentina.
The other club keen on Kouame is reportedly Leganes. The very same Leganes who have been linked with long-term target Cyriel Dessers again this month, having come close to landing the then-KRC Genk attacker back in 2021.
It may be no coincidence that Dessers’ name is not mentioned even briefly in Tuttomercatoweb’s latest report. Have Empoli and Leganes both shifted their attention elsewhere? Have Rangers removed him from the market after a run of six goals in four games?
Is he simply too expensive?
Whatever the answer, even if it is a mix of all three, it appears more likely now that at any point in the window that Dessers will still be a Rangers player come February.
