It’s finally official – Cyriel Dessers joins Rangers for £5.5M on a four-year deal, in an announcement slightly earlier than Ibrox Noise reported!
This is one we’re glad to have been fractionally wrong on, and we want to explore some of the basics about the striker we now have at Ibrox.
Dessers, 28, will play as Rangers’ main striker ahead of the likes of Sam Lammers – as in, Lammers et al will be in the 10 slot, supporting Dessers. It may be as a two, but either way, the Belgian-born Nigerian will be the primary number 9 at Ibrox.
What kind of striker is he? He’s a goalscorer. Think Colak and Roofe, Dessers is a more technical version of both of these talented strikers – but he is also more wasteful than them.
For that, think Ally. Rangers’ legendary goalscorer wasted many, many more chances than he converted, and that’s what the top strikers do.
As fellow legend Gary Lineker once said:
“I was never worried about missing chances, it’s part of being a striker. I’d be a lot more worried I wasn’t in the position TO miss those chances, that my movement wasn’t good enough.”
And when it comes to movement, Dessers is excellent – he has a brilliant read of the game and gets in the best positions – he isn’t a big distance striker – doesn’t score too many outside the box, but inside the box he has a clinical rate of conversation and scores a lot in there.
And that’s what Michael Beale wants from him – a striker with good poaching instincts, good movement, but who is a big lad and able to cause defences physical problems with his frame.
It appears a major reason Beale was reticent to use Antonio Colak and opted for Morelos instead was the physicality. Colak, despite being a big guy at 6ft 2, doesn’t have the reputation for being a physical player.
Now we can’t say for sure that 6ft 1 Dessers does, but we do know he’s technical, he’s quick, and he’s big – and his arrival spells arguable doom for Colak who, wanting to start, is probably going to seek a move away.
Dessers is a good good striker, with an excellent return in Holland, Belgium and Italy, given the circumstances. Colak’s record excelled in Sweden and Croatia which aren’t as lucrative as leagues.
Beale has made his choice here.
And Dessers will be his man going forward.