Have boots, will travel. The story of Frank Large, a journeyman striker of many teams in the 1960s and 1970s, could apply to Cyriel Dessers. A tenth club in as many years will not be the next chapter in his career.

Large was fondly admired by fans of the likes of Queens Park Rangers, Leicester City and Fulham during a nomadic career. He was liked and scored goals wherever he pitched up. The same can be said of Dessers.

Dessers has not stayed in one place for long since making his breakthrough at OH Leuven a decade ago. Stints at Lokeren and NAC Breda were followed by a move to FC Utrecht. Another to Heracles soon materialised and his time at Genk included a loan with Feyenoord before he played for a single season in Serie A with Cremonese.

This time last summer, he packed his boots and hit the road once again. He put pen-to-paper with Rangers after Michael Beale struck a £4.5million deal and looked to make Glasgow a home from home. In manager Philippe Clement, he now has a compatriot and a coach who helped raise his spirits and his levels during the second half of his first season.

It was a term that brought 22 goals and a League Cup medal, but one which was overshadowed by individual criticism and collective failure. Dessers can say that he held up his end of the bargain as the most robust and reliable member of the Ibrox attack but many supporters would still see him as dispensable this summer should the right offer be put in front of the 29-year-old.

Dessers is focused on the future, but not his future. The Rangers Review revealed this month that clubs in France and Spain, as well as Saudi Arabia, had expressed an interest in Dessers, with the Ibrox board determined to recoup the fee that was paid for his services 12 months ago.


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Until the phone rings, Dessers is not concerned. He has, after all, been in this situation more than once in recent years and is well used to life during a transfer window.

On Saturday, the support that have written him off at times chanted his name as he scored twice in the draw with Union Berlin and showed what he is capable of and what he can bring to the team. As it stands, Dessers is here to stay.

“Every summer is a big summer at this club,” Dessers said. “That’s not a real surprise. Obviously I’m really happy at this club.

“I’ve said before, when I signed I was hoping to stay for a couple of years, to win some trophies. I’ve won one but I want the biggest one and that’s to win the league.

“For me there’s been a lot of writing and talking. Sometimes I come into the building and it’s like, ‘Oh you’re still here!’ I don’t have a lot of ideas about what is happening, but I don’t read too many of things. When they call me, it will probably be serious, but I haven’t had a call yet.”

There were few players last season who had as many words said and written about them as Dessers. He is a pleasant and affable person to deal with, but a difficult player to sum up. When he is good, he is good. When he is not, his doubters don’t need much ammunition.

His first months here were a campaign of trials and tribulations, of highs and lows. Such tumult could have broken some, but Dessers has found happiness at Ibrox.

“Definitely,” Dessers said when asked if Rangers felt like home now. “And not just for me, for my fiancé as well.

“We feel at home in Glasgow, we feel good. We’re happy to be here and hopefully I can be here for some years and more importantly, hopefully I can win some trophies here.”

The first step towards that ambition will be taken at Tynecastle on Saturday as Clement’s side begin their Premiership campaign. A trip to face Hearts is hardly the easiest assignment that Rangers could have been handed and the fact that they head into it in a state of flux leaves supporters unsure of what to expect from a side that is still being rebuilt.


Read more: Check all the Rangers transfer news & rumours throughout the transfer window


The eight-goal thriller in Berlin at the weekend did little to ease any lingering doubts. Rangers were slick from middle to front but sloppy in their own half and Clement needs reinforcements in the dressing room and time on the training pitch to cure the ills that plague this team.

The two goals that Dessers scored, either side of a brace from Tom Lawrence, were accomplished finishes. He rounded the keeper after collecting a Mohamed Diomande pass for his first, while the second saw him twist and turn away from two defenders before slotting home. A pre-season of few positives for Clement has been productive for Dessers.

“Happy to get on the scoresheet twice against a really good opponent,” Dessers said. “I was happy with the performance of the team too.

“It was a special game. I think they got two of their goals a little bit for free due to decisions.

“But OK. I think our reaction was very good and that’s the most important thing we can take from this game. Mentally we’re in a good place.

“It’s been a nice feeling to do a full pre-season. Last year I came in with an injury and I could only train fully the week before the league started.

“The season before I played in the Conference League final and then had the national team, so I came in late [to pre-season with Cremonese] as well. So it’s been really nice to have a good build up in the training. I feel fit and I feel ready for next week, definitely.”

Dessers got a valuable 80 minutes in the tank against Union and played his part in the most encouraging performance of pre-season for Clement’s side. Overall, there have been few real highlights, but one major one - the return of £6million forward Danilo - certainly falls into that category.

The Brazilian saw his first term at Ibrox interrupted by a facial injury and then ended by knee surgery. With Hamza Igamane not yet deemed to be at the required level, two of the strikers that Beale recruited last summer will have to come to the fore for Clement.

“Oh I think that can only be good,” Dessers said when asked what having Danilo back in the squad will do for his own levels. “Obviously Dani is a quality player. Hopefully he can be fit soon. Like last season, it’s not only the guys who are starting or coming in, either it’s me or him.


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“Everybody is going to be important, especially in this league were sometimes for 70 minutes you have to bang against the wall of five defenders. Then maybe we can bring somebody fresh in and he can be the difference. If that’s the case, I’m totally fine with that.

“I just want to win games, that’s the only thing that counts for me, but I also think for everybody about this club. I can only be happy with that.”

The arrival of Igamane and return of Danilo has given Clement different options in the final third this term. On Friday, his hand was strengthened once again as Vaclav Cerny completed a season-long loan move from Wolfsburg.

Cerny came through the ranks at Ajax and also turned out for Utrecht and FC Twente in the Eredivisie before heading to Germany last summer. His signing has been warmly welcomed by supporters, and has enthused Dessers.

“I think he has a very interesting profile that maybe we don’t have yet,” Dessers said. “He’s a winger who can play on the outside against the line but who can also come insider and create more in the midfield.

“He’ll give us some good creativity there. He has a good left foot, right foot. He can be important with goals and assists so I’m really looking forward to playing with him.”