{{primary_category}}
{{/primary_category}} 
Cyriel Dessers slammed as Ibrox flop 'will never be the answer' to Rangers striker woes
Jonny McFarlane has slammed Cyriel Dessers, suggesting that the Rangers striker will never be the answer to the attacking woes at Ibrox.
The Nigerian forward has struggled to find his feet at Ibrox since arriving from Cremonese for £5.4 million [The Herald], scoring six times in 22 appearances in all competitions with four of those goals coming in the Scottish Premiership where he has started slowly.
Rangers have had an upturn in form since Philippe Clement arrived in Glasgow and remain unbeaten in all competitions under the Belgian, but McFarlane believes that if the Gers want to win a title, they need a new number nine.
Writing for The Herald (20 November) he said: “If Philippe Clement wants to win the title this year, he needs goals. Danilo already looks handy in that department but his facial injury against St Johnstone earlier in the season exposed the lack of depth behind the Brazilian.
“It’s obvious that Cyriel Dessers is not, and will never be the answer. The Nigerian striker is a lovely big guy, but he’s not shown anything close to the standards of finishing or build-up play required to be a Rangers no.9.”
Not shown anything close
It has been clear for some time that Rangers don’t have much quality in the final third of the pitch, with Dessers and Sam Lammers struggling to show why Michael Beale was so keen to bring the pair to Ibrox in the summer transfer window.
The goals have started becoming slightly more regular for the Nigerian since Clement arrived in Glasgow, but there has still been very little in his performances to show that he is capable of being the number nine to fire the Gers to a title in the future.
Not only does the Nigerian miss chance after chance, but he is basically non-existent in the build-up and only comes alive in the final third. The Light Blues look a much better side with Danilo in it and when the Brazilian is fit, he has to be the one to start ahead of Dessers.
While the 28-year-old undoubtedly has a role as a rotation forward in Scotland, the fee paid for him should bring with it a 20-goal-a-season striker. Until he starts scoring more regularly and contributing more outside of the penalty area, the criticism of the forward will continue to mount.
In other Rangers news, Tommy Wright has set Ross McCausland a new challenge after the winger’s Ibrox breakthrough