Philippe Clement a relieved man at Rangers as announcement made on Cyriel Dessers
Philippe Clement will be in a much better mood than Cyriel Dessers after the Rangers striker was overlooked by Nigeria ahead of the international break.
The Nigeria Football Federation named their squad (6 November) for the Super Eagles' upcoming games against Benin and Rwanda, with former Ibrox loanee Umar Sadiq included ahead of Dessers.
Dessers won't be best pleased with the decision – particularly given Sadiq has scored just once goal for club and country in the past year – but Clement will be glad to have still have him in tow at Auchenhowie.
In quotes reported by the Rangers Review (10 November), Nigeria's assistant coach Daniel Ogunmodede said: "(Umar) Sadiq had been in the team for a while and was also out due to injury – now he’s back and the coach felt we needed a striker like him.
"He looked at other strikers too and had his reasons for picking his names in the squad."
Philippe Clement needs Cyriel Dessers fit and present at Rangers
While Dessers has a decent goals return for Clement's side this term, his form has blown hot and cold throughout the early stages of the campaign and drawn criticism from all angles.
Therefore, given the striking talent Nigeria have at their disposal – such as Victor Osimhen and Victor Boniface – it's hardly surprising to see Dessers overlooked for two fairly routine international fixtures.
Furthermore, and somewhat frustratingly for Light Blues fans, Clement will see consistent training time and minutes on the pitch in a Gers jersey as the best way for Dessers to play himself back into form.
Hamza Igamane has shown flashes of his ability to become the Bears' long-term number nine and Danilo is continuing his comeback from injury, but Dessers remains Clement's only real go-to option up front.
The Belgian is still heavily reliant on the Belgium-born striker to lead the line and get the Gers' domestic title chase back on track, and if Dessers can do that, he'll surely be back in Nigeria's ranks soon enough.
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