When a player splits opinion as Cyriel Dessers does, they can often be referred to as being like Marmite. The use of the phrase though would suggest that he inspires emotions as strong as love and hate, and for the majority of Rangers fans, that doesn’t seem to be the case when it comes to the forward.
A great many Rangers supporters are no doubt fond of Dessers. He seems a lovely bloke, and for all his faults, he never hides. Like all good strikers, no matter how many times they miss the target, he always comes back for more.
The Nigerian has never quite been taken to the hearts of the Ibrox faithful though, despite a more than decent goal return on the pitch and being a model of professionalism and courtesy off it.
He inspires frustration, mostly, with his goals suggesting there is a player in there, but it is the frequency of his misses – and the glaring nature of many of them – that have meant he has never convinced the fans he has it in him to be a Rangers number nine. As well as their timing.
Dessers, as a player, is chock full of contradictions. He has the mentality to shrug off howlers, as well as the strength of character to withstand the level of stick that comes his way - rightly or wrongly.
But he also stands accused of lacking the minerals to step up to the plate in the really big matches. That he doesn’t take the chances when it really matters. He has indeed squandered big opportunities at key moments in Old Firm matches, for instance, and hasn’t really been forgiven for it.
On paper, his stats are more than respectable. He has upped his conversion rate this season to north of 25 percent, and is the joint-top scorer in the country alongside Celtic’s Nicolas Kuhn with 16 goals in all competitions, even if there is an element of ‘stat-padding’ with his three against the part-time Highland League outfit.
It is little wonder that with statistics playing such an integral role in recruitment these days, the strong numbers Dessers produces have led to him attracting interest from clubs in France, Spain and Italy in this transfer window, with Rangers manager Philippe Clement admitting he may allow Dessers to leave this month if the club can source a replacement of a similar calibre.
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Dessers was signed as a first choice striker, and is remunerated accordingly. He is though currently the third-choice striker at the club, behind Hamza Igamane and Danilo. Having a substitute draining so much from the budget on a weekly basis is surely unsustainable.
If Rangers can move him on then, it would make sense to do so from a strictly financial standpoint. Particularly if they can also land a decent fee. But is Clement’s demand for a similar level of player to be brought in to fulfil that role on more modest wages realistic?
Probably not. For all Dessers’ faults, he does know where the net is, even if it often takes him a few attempts to find it. But the league is gone. If Rangers can get the 30-year-old off the wage bill in January, and bring in a talented young forward on lower wages but with the potential to develop, it would be logical to do so.
Or, maybe even the likes of Lawrence Shankland, who could fulfil the same role as a shorter term back-up option, but for a lower salary.
Over to you, Nils Koppen.
If Dessers does leave, the question then is not only over how the club will replace him, but how will the Rangers fans remember him?
Given his more than decent goal return, has he been underrated during his time at Ibrox? Perhaps even underappreciated? Or given the many maddening moments he has also produced, will they be glad to see the back of him?
In the end, he just didn’t prove quite good enough to fill that jersey as the main striker for Rangers on a consistent basis. A talented player, no doubt. Not great, not awful, but perpetually fluctuating somewhere in between.
If Rangers have designs on putting up a better fist of it in the second half of this season, and more importantly, carrying a more creditable fight to Celtic for the Premiership title next season, then that just won’t cut it.
Rangers can’t bank on Dessers to deliver when it really matters, which is why manager Clement is now relying more and more on the alternatives.
And, alas, why it would be a smart move by Rangers to move him on now, if they possibly can.
