Cyriel Dessers has brushed aside talk of an imminent exit from Rangers by insisting he’s still got unfinished business at the club.
Despite falling behind Hamza Igamane in the pecking order over the last month, the Nigeria international has still scored six goals in his past four games to take his tally for the season to 18.
Amid ongoing interest from St Etienne, Cagliari, Empoli, Monza and Leganes in the 30-year-old, manager Philippe Clement recently refused to rule out a January move by pointing out the danger in the player becoming unhappy if he plays less frequently.
‘There’s a lot of unfinished business at Rangers for me,’ said the man who joined from Cremonese in 2023.
‘That’s also why I kept pushing in the last weeks, in the gym, in training, in the minutes that you get. That’s because of that.
Rangers striker Cyriel Dessers celebrates as he scores to make it 3-1 against Dundee United
That goal at the weekend followed his fine goal after Manchester United at Old Trafford
Yet, despite his goalscoring heroics, there are still doubts about Dessers’ future at Rangers
‘I feel like I’m in a good place. I’ve been feeling that for a couple of weeks.
‘I’ve been working hard on and off the pitch and then, if you get the moments like this to show it, then you need to show it.’
Dessers himself recently claimed he’d need to have a conversation with the club if he wasn’t getting the game minutes he desired.
He seems to have backtracked from that position, though, adding: ‘No talks at all. I don’t mind that.
‘I try to focus on the football, the things that are happening on the pitch.
‘Those are the things that I can control. And, like Sunday, I’m just happy to be out there with the guys and fight for the points and be important. That’s what I want.’
Despite scoring 23 goals last season, the forward has never had his critics to seek in a Rangers jersey.
Having gone seven games without a goal, his appearance as a late substitute against Aberdeen was met with jeers from some supporters.
‘Yeah, that’s not easy. That’s quite hard to take,’ he reflected. ‘But, on the other hand, I’ve had a lot of positive interaction as well with fans around the stadium in the city and I try to take that to heart.
‘And when I get out there, I just want to fight with my team-mates who I see every day, who respect me, who know the effort I put in at the training ground and then to win like this. That just makes me very happy.’
Having resolved to fight for his place in the team, Dessers feels he can yet win his critics over.
‘I know, at this club, things can change very fast as well,’ he stated. ‘For example, the stick that a player like Tav (James Tavernier) gets sometimes. He’s a Hall of Fame player, he has scored more than 100 goals for this club, 400 games, all of this.
‘And then I’m thinking, maybe there will always be something to talk about. But I just try to enjoy the beautiful moments at this club and I’m lucky that I have plenty of these.
‘Those are way more important to me than the few negative moments.’
Meanwhile, Rangers midfielder Kieran Dowell has joined Birmingham City on loan for the rest of this season.
Dowell moved to Ibrox from Norwich in the summer of 2023.
However, the 27-year-old has started just three games across all competitions this campaign.
It is understood there are no clauses in the deal to turn the loan into a permanent transfer.
