Strong, intelligent, a finisher… and ‘a pest’.
Leon Balogun is only just back through the door at Ibrox, but he’s seen and heard enough about Cyriel Dessers to confidently conclude that Rangers have made a shrewd acquisition. Signed for £4.5million from Serie A side Cremonese, the 28-year-old striker has been the club’s most eye-catching capture of the summer so far.
A Nigeria international, he and Balogun had crossed paths previously while representing the Super Eagles. And while those meetings were scarce, the returning centre-back always found himself feeling impressed.
Balogun, now 35, signed a one-year contract to return to Rangers last week, a deal completed quickly in the wake of a long-term injury to Leon King. The veteran defender, visibly thrilled at the opportunity to re-join Rangers, is still settling back into his new-old surroundings, but it hasn’t taken long for him to hear that Dessers is making an impression.
“I had only met him at the national team maybe three or four times,” Balogun explained. “But I always felt he was a very intelligent striker. He’s a very laid-back, friendly and approachable guy. But on the pitch, he’s a pest.
“Honestly, I was surprised. He’s pretty strong. I remember I had a conversation with Soutts [John Souttar] the other day and asked what he thought of him. He said: “Oh my god, he’s so strong”.
“You don’t really expect that. He’s good in front of the goal as well and I think we’re going to get a lot of joy out of him. He just needs to get up and running. But once he finds his confidence and finds his place in the team properly, I think we’re going to have a lot of joy.”
Balogun revealed to broadcast media that he had a hand in ensuring Dessers chose Scotland as his next destination, an approach from his countryman seeking the Ibrox inside track that was met with the most emphatic of responses. Balogun firmly believes his first spell at Rangers were the best two years of his career, telling Dessers that however big he believes the club to be, it won’t truly hit home until he gets started.
“He basically just asked me what the club is like,” said Balogun. “He knew a little bit but wanted to know what my experience was like. I told him that for me personally, I had the best time of my career here.
“I enjoyed it, the people are great. I told him they expect a lot, especially the supporters, but that just comes with the size of the club.
“He said, I know it’s a big club…’ But I said, ‘No you don’t! I thought I had an idea when I came first time but everyone said you’ll only understand how big it is once you get here.’
“That’s what I told Cyriel too. ‘If you really have a chance, buy into it. If you feel the manager wants you, go for it because he will be brilliant for you. The way I know the team and the club, you’ll have a good time there if you do your part’.”
Dessers will be tasked with replacing Alfredo Morelos at the forefront of Michael Beales’s attack. The Colombian’s Rangers career may have fizzled out slowly, but he still left as a major influence in the 2021 Premiership title win and as the club’s all-time top goalscorer in Europe.
Balogun stressed that Dessers is a different profile of player from Morelos, and thinks it would be unhelpful to directly compare the two. At his peak, Morelos was a hugely popular figure with Rangers fans, and Balogun does believe Dessers has all the attributes to take over that fan-favourite mantle.
“I think he’s a different player from Alfredo,” the centre-back said. “Alfredo has done what he’s done and deserves all the praise for it. But I think no-one is doing Cyriel any favours if you compare and ask how he is compared to Morelos.
“I think everybody should just start with a clean slate, look at Cyriel and see what he brings to the table. Definitely, he’s got physical attributes and a good football brain. Like I said, I think he’s going to be a joy to watch.
“When I said pest I meant for any defender. For me personally in training, I don’t like to play against him because he’s mobile and strong. He’s going to give you problems and make you work hard.
“He’s shown bits of that in training already. If he brings that into the stadium and into the games, I’m pretty sure the fans will take a liking to him pretty quickly.”
As for his own return, Balogun unsurprisingly credited Beale as the key instigator.
“He was the one who decided he wanted to work with me again so obviously it’s colossal,” he said. “That’s maybe a bit dramatic but he’s quite an important figure in this whole thing. The funny thing is that the same night my agent texted me [to tell me about Rangers’ interest] I actually text the manager to say congratulations on signing Cyriel.
“I was joking to him and asked, ‘Where should I send the invoice?’ Obviously I was talking to Cyriel too.
“The manager though was just asking how I was but at that point he must have already spoken to my agent, so he left me completely in the dark. But yeah, I get along with him greatly. I really enjoy working with him.
“Even today we had a meeting in the morning. I won’t share what he said but he gets you to think and engages with the players. I think he educates players beyond football and that’s something very special, especially nowadays when man management is more important than ever.
“We’ve all just seen the Deli Alli interview and I think we can avoid these situations if you work on a relationship. You can never make everybody happy but you can make them feel respected and appreciated and I think he’s very good at that.”
