Dessers turns down Rangers, insists on Italy stay

22nd June 2023

According to Italian publication Calciomercato, Nigerian forward Cyril Dessers has no intention to leave Italy this summer despite potential transfers linking him away from relegated Serie A side, Cremonese.

Dessers’ insistence has dealt a blow to Scottish Premiership giants, Rangers’ pursuit of Dessers, with the Super Eagles striker keen on remaining in the Serie A rather than joining the Glasgow club in the summer transfer window.

Rangers have been strongly linked with Dessers and had tabled an initial bid to Cremonese but fell short of his £7m valuation. The Light Blues manager Michael Beale had identified him as a potential replacement for the departed Alfredo Morelos despite completing the signing of Sam Lammers from Sampdoria.

With Cremonese’s relegation to Serie B, they want to recoup more than the €6.5m they paid Racing Genk for his services last summer in order to mitigate the financial loss from getting relegated.

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Dessers’ alternatives in the Serie A include Torino who have expressed interest in the Nigeria international who is contracted to the Grigiorossi until June 30, 2027. He scored only six goals and two assists in 26 appearances for Cremonese last season.

Meanwhile, retired Scotland international defender Alan Hutton has shared his opinion on the possibility of Glasgow Rangers winning the race for Cremonese attacker Cyriel Dessers amid rival interest from clubs in the Serie A.

Hutton has claimed that Rangers will struggle to beat Serie A teams to the signature of Dessers, citing the fact that the Premiership has a lower UEFA coefficient than Italy’s top division.

It has been claimed that the Nigerian would prefer a move to Torino over Rangers, but Hutton has suggested that staying in Italy might not be the best option for the striker.

“If you are talking about a team that is going to fight relegation then it is not a better option,” Hutton told Football Insider.

“Yes potentially you are in a stronger league but you could get relegated.

“We are talking about a team in Rangers that although maybe in a smaller league, they are in Europe, they fight for trophies year in and year out, they play in front of 50,000 fans which you probably don’t get in Italy.

“It depends on how you weigh it up.”