Rangers forced into hunt for new striker after Cyriel Dessers injury update
Cyriel Dessers’ injury in the Scottish Cup Final against Celtic may force Philippe Clement’s hand in his search for a new striker in the summer transfer window.
The Gers manager had to withdraw the 29-year-old forward during half-time at Hampden Park following an ankle injury, and Glasgow World reported that Dessers left the stadium wearing a protective boot on the right leg.
Dessers will undergo scans this week to determine the length of time he will be out of action, but if, as Clement expects, he has torn ankle ligaments, the Nigerian international may not be back in full training until the start of next season.
Speaking post-match, Dessers said: “I got injured in the first half, after around 25 minutes, it’s my ankle.
“I tried to go on because obviously it was the game of the year, the big final at the end of the season, one big push. But I had to come off. I’ll get it assessed in the next few days.”
Rangers must go all out in new striker pursuit
Dessers has been the Gers’ focal point this season, particularly since Clement’s arrival at Ibrox in mid-October, and scored 22 goals in all competitions as the club’s leading striker
However, his profligacy in the box has seen him receive significant criticism from both pundits and fans, particularly in recent weeks as the Gers’ push for the Premiership title fell away at the final hurdle.
As such, despite breaking the 20-goal barrier during his debut campaign with the light blues, the consensus amongst pundits is that Clement must upgrade his attacking stocks this summer – a consensus established well before Dessers’ ankle injury.
With Scotland’s player of the year Lawrence Shankland reportedly set to become the subject of a bidding war between the two Old Firm rivals, Rangers must ensure they win that particular race if they want to overcome Celtic next season.
A fit-again Dessers playing in tandem with or as an alternative to Shankland would give Rangers an embarrassment of riches up front, and with Danilo and potentially Sam Lammers to add to the mix, the Nigerian’s ankle injury could prove to be a blessing in disguise for the Gers, forcing them to speed up their most necessary piece of summer transfer business.
In other Rangers news, a report has named which Ibrox loanee is most likely to be part of the squad next season.
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