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The National (Scotland)
The National (Scotland)
Sport
Ewan Paton

Neil Lennon makes Celtic admission over Rangers new boy Cyriel Dessers

Cyriel Dessers last week became Rangers' sixth signing of the summer.

Michael Beale is in the midst of a rebuild this pre-season as he aims to turn Rangers' fortunes around in their battle to topple Celtic at the summit of Scottish football.

The striker joined the Light Blues for a fee of around £4.5million from Cremonese in Italy.

There are hopes that he can be the man to replace the void filled by Alfredo Morelos at the top end of the pitch for Rangers.

But things could've worked out so differently for Dessers, Neil Lennon has revealed.

The Northern Irishman claims that Dessers was on his radar when he was last the manager of Celtic.

The frontman has just bagged 15 goals for Heracles in the Eredivisie during the 2019/20 season before Covid struck.

And Lenny admits he was a big admirer of Dessers' work. 

The attacker went on to sign for Belgian side Genk so he was one that got away, but Lennon admits he should be a good piece of business for Rangers.

Lennon told Go Radio's Football Show: “I watched him when he was at Heracles and he was the leading goalscorer in the Dutch league that season.

“He’s a big, powerful player with a little bit of technique sometimes, with the soft feet.

“But he’s a goalscorer and I think at £4.5million he could be a great bit of business for Rangers. They needed a striker and they’ve got one in the building now.

“He was one of the players that came up. You’ve many, many options in that position and Cyriel was one of them. He went on to Cremonese for a while.

“But his goal record is good and he's a physical type. Quick, strong as has a goal in him. For £4.5million, that’s decent business.”

Meanwhile, Rangers transfer target Danilo has dropped a strong clue regarding his future. 

The striker is wanted by Michael Beale this summer, with the Ibrox club closely monitoring the 24-year-old's situation at Feyenoord.

The Brazilian won the Eredivisie with the Dutch giants last term and has attracted plenty of suitors with his form.

Rangers have already bolstered their attacking options considerably in the off-season with the signings of Sam Lammers, Dessers, and Abdallah Sima.

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