They say that beauty is in the eye of the beholder. It could soon be another support that casts their eye over Cyriel Dessers and decides whether they love him or loathe him.

The obligatory YouTube compilation and a glance at the numbers in black and white do not tell the full Dessers story. Both will make the striker seem like an appealing recruit for clubs that are in the market for a man to lead the line this summer. Indeed, some outside observers may question why Rangers would part with a player who contributed in the way Dessers did last term.

It was, though, a season of the good, the bad and the ugly. Those that watched Dessers over the course of the campaign need no reminding of the tumultuous nature of his first months at Ibrox. Overall, a return of 22 goals and nine assists from 54 matches could be lauded and derided at the same time. Dessers could and should have had so many more from a season that delivered one medal, several moments and his fair share of missed opportunities, in every sense.

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Week after week, the Nigerian international was one of the first names on the team sheet for Philippe Clement. Yet he heads into the new campaign not even guaranteed of his place in the squad, never mind in the starting line-up. Just 12 months after a £4.5million deal brought Dessers in from Cremonese, he could be on his way out of Ibrox.

PAOK are the first side to be named as an admirer of Dessers. It is understood that he has other suitors on the continent. Once again, this well-travelled striker looks set for a move after stints with Utrecht, Heracles, Genk and Feyenoord, as well as that one-season in Serie A, over the last five years.

Rangers must decide whether to stick or twist with Dessers. At 29, his value will only depreciate and it is unlikely that he will enjoy another season as productive, in relative terms, than his first at Ibrox. A sale this summer gives Rangers a chance of recouping as much of their initial outlay as possible. If he stays, Dessers becomes a loss in player trading terms and there is not enough to suggest the equation works in Rangers' favour.

(Image: StatsBomb)

The potential fee and the wages tied up in him pose a problem for Clement and Nils Koppen, the director of football recruitment. Both could be utilised in a smarter, more efficient and more profitable way. A parting may ultimately be best for all concerned.

Dessers returned to Auchenhowie on Monday as Clement’s squad gathered for the first time this season. Like so many members of the group, the shirt he wore on day one may not be the same colour as the one he pulls on come the start of the campaign. This will be a summer of change for Rangers.

Clement has already lost Kemar Roofe, Abdallah Sima and Fabio Silva from his attacking options. Danilo will add to the numbers now that he has recovered from the cruciate knee ligament injury that ended his first term in Glasgow, while a move for Hamza Igamane is in place as Clement reshapes the squad with new faces and a new vision.

READ MORE: The balance between star exits, market patience and new recruits Rangers must strike

To say that Dessers had his critics over the course of the campaign would be something of an understatement. Alongside Sam Lammers, he encapsulated everything that was wrong about Michael Beale’s recruitment and game plan during the first months of the season. Beale’s tenure was brought to an end in October and Lammers was shipped out at the first opportunity, somehow going on to reinvent himself in the Eredivisie with FC Utrecht.

Dessers outstayed them both and outperformed them both, winning over many of his critics and quietening many of his doubters along the way. He was booed off and sarcastically cheered at Ibrox but his affable demeanour and admirable work rate endeared him to the support that sang ‘nice one, Cyriel’ as the goals came regularly in the second half of the season.

“That it is not only the goals,” Clement said when asked to sum up his contribution following his 20th strike of the campaign in the win over St Mirren in April. “It is also the work he is doing without ball, also his work as high support. He is working really hard for the team, he is giving everything.

(Image: PA)

"He changed the situation himself in a really good way. If I hear what the fans are singing now or six months ago, there are different songs. But he deserves because he has been working really hard to help the team, not only thinking about himself but to help the team. Then the moments come and the situations come to be decisive in that position. It was again a really good finish today and a good cross of Tav also.”

Dessers did not quite go from zero to hero. Clement’s side fell short in the Premiership title race and the season ended in defeat at Hampden as Dessers was forced off through injury in the Scottish Cup final. Those minutes could be his last ones in blue.

READ MORE: Ibrox inside story: Failed reassurances, reputational cost and venue search

Only five players played more minutes than Dessers on Premiership duty. He proved that he was physically robust enough to deal with the demands of life at Ibrox during a term where so many of his peers were jinxed by the injury curse. His quality could be questioned, but his character could not and to come back from such a dreadful start to his career in such an unforgiving city spoke volumes about his personality.

Dessers was never one to hit out or hit back. The punters and the Press had to criticise his contribution at various stages, but he didn’t take it personally and became a likeable character that the Ibrox crowd wanted to see succeed. He always backed himself.

"That’s up to other people to answer that," said Dessers of silencing his critics after a fine finish that secured victory in Paisley as he went on to speak about his other attributes in terms of running the channels or aerial duels. "But I said it before. I wasn’t just talking to talk at that point. I know that throughout my career that if I play minutes, if I play games, I’m always going to score goals.

"I’m a striker who maybe on the eye isn’t the most beautiful striker or the most clean striker. I think with me, as a striker, it’s easy to see what’s not there. But as I am in life, and I think this is a good lesson for everybody, I love to look at what’s there, what you get out of me and what I can do for the team. If you look only, then the numbers speak for themselves. But I’m not only talking about that.”

Right now, the numbers will do all the talking. If Dessers does leave, the structure of the transfer will go some way to shaping his legacy. A profit or a break-even deal would be a valuable contribution, albeit in a different manner.

Ultimately, Rangers can do better than Dessers. Indeed, they must do better than Dessers. Whatever shape the forward line takes this term, Clement cannot afford for it to be as profligate in chances converted or meagre in minutes played.

Dessers will no doubt go elsewhere and provide an acceptable goal return, as he has done that more often than not in his career. Rangers should not be hard to deal with, though. That No.9 jersey needs a new man inside it at Ibrox.