It was a dream come true that turned out to be a nightmare.
But Cyriel Dessers reckons the harsh lessons learned in Serie A’s school of hard knocks has been the perfect preparation as he looks to make the grade at Rangers. The Ibrox new boy has joined Michael Beale’s side after agreeing a £4.5million switch from Cremonese. The former Utrecht, Genk and Feyenoord hitman’s move to Italy was the fulfilment of a lifelong ambition as he finally fought his way through to one of Europe’s top leagues.
But life in Lombardy didn’t pan out as he’d envisioned, with the 28-year-old’s side locked in a forlorn fight against relegation. Cremonese’s loss has proved to be Rangers’ gain, though, with Beale swooping in to snatch the Nigeria international on a cut-price deal as the Italians failed to claw back the full £6m they had splashed out for his signature only 12 months earlier.
And Dessers reckons he’s also picked up plenty from his time taking on some of the modern game’s most talent stoppers, which he hopes will now give him the edge on Scotland’s defenders. He said: “Of course, it made me a better player. I’d been dreaming about playing in a top five league since I was a kid. To finally be there, witness it and be part of it was amazing.
“I learned a lot. When you play against some of the best defenders in the world, you learn how to use your body, to play smarter and faster.
“I’ve played against Merih Demiral of Atalanta, Alessandro Bastoni at Inter and, of course, Kim Min-jae from Napoli – all great defenders. But I like that actually. It’s a challenge to compete and to fight with them.
“It helps you develop as a player, even at my age. I’m not the youngest any more but I still want to learn a lot.
“On top of the experience I had from Belgium and the Netherlands, I feel that made me a more complete footballer. I hope I can convert it and show it in the Scottish league as well to get firing again.”
Scotland’s Premiership may lack the more delicate flourishes Italy’s top flight has shown down the years. But Dessers insists there’s a darker side to Serie A that should serve him well at Ibrox.
He grinned and said: “In Italy I’ve been up against some pretty rough defenders who were also allowed to get away with a lot – the referees in Italy don’t whistle as fast as they do in Belgium or the Netherlands! So I think I’m coming from a good place to adapt to Scotland.”
Ibrox is the ninth posting the Belgian-born frontman has racked up since launching his senior career a decade ago but he’s hoping to at last put down some solid roots in Glasgow.
Dessers, who has penned a four-year Gers deal, said: “I’ve had a lot of clubs in the last few years. It was never my intention to swap clubs every summer.
“It was always due to circumstances, of course. One time I did not get the minutes, other times I did well so I could go a step up. This time we were relegated in Italy. It proves to me that you can’t plan in football.
“Now Rangers are here. One of the reasons I signed is that I can see myself playing here for a long time. I don’t want to move every season. I want to accomplish something here.”
Had former Light Blues boss Steven Gerrard had his way, Dessers would have checked into Ibrox long before now. Enquires in 2019 when he was tearing up the Eredivisie with Dutch side Heracles didn’t progress but now he’s made it to Rangers, Dessers is determined to make up for lost time.
He said: “I spoke a couple of times with Rangers in the past years and the contact has always been close. I am happy to finally be here now. Finally it was possible to make a deal and arrive here.
“I am very happy with that. I think the first contact was when I became top scorer in Eredivisie.
“It was during Covid, so it was a difficult time for a lot of clubs to make deals. After that the contact was always there, not always in the shape of an offer, but there was always some casual conversations.
“I’ve won the cup in Belgium [with Genk in 2021] but, of course, I want more and that’s obviously one of the reasons why I came to Rangers. I want to win trophies here. I think this is an amazing club to be at, especially if you could win a trophy here. That would be something you’d never forget for the rest of your life.”
Dessers had been well warned by Nigeria team-mates Calvin Bassey, Joe Aribo and Leon Balogun of what he can expect as he flits into the Glasgow pressure pot. But having had a taste of Dutch frenzy with Feyenoord, he insists he can handle what’s to come.
“All of them have been pretty successful at Rangers so they had some good experiences here,” he replied to being asked what the league-winning trio had told him about Scotland.
“I hope to be the next Nigerian national team player to be successful at Rangers, that would be a dream! At a club like Rangers, the pressure’s always on. But at Feyenoord and Genk, those are top teams too and there’s always pressure to play for trophies, so that’s not new for me.
“Rangers is different but at Feyenoord the pressure was also very high. But that’s something I like and makes me perform even better. I hope I can show that in Glasgow.
“I haven’t walked around in Glasgow yet or played at Ibrox to experience that but from the stories I’ve heard, the pressure will be even higher. But that’s a good thing. If you’re only playing for a spot in the middle of the table with no pressure, that gets boring after a while. I prefer this.”
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