Ex-Rangers player backs Dessers for success

Former Rangers and Canada midfielder, Scott Nathaniel Artfield, has backed Super Eagles striker, Cyriel Dessers, to become a mainstay in Scotland following his recent form.

The 30-year-old striker, in his debut season with the Gers, scored 22 goals across all competitions despite being under fire for the majority of the campaign.

This season, Dessers has racked up the same number of goals under even worse situations with two months of football left to play. Additionally, he’s been vital in the UEFA Europa League for Barry Ferguson’s side.

Despite his improvement, the former Cremonese striker was omitted from Eric Chelle’s 23-man squad for the March International Break.

Artfield, who donned the Rangers jersey between 2018 and 2023, revealed that Dessers still has more to give and has been unfairly scrutinised about his performances.

“Cyriel Dessers – who gets a raw deal at times in my eyes – is nowhere near as bad as a player as some critics claim while Hamza perhaps hasn’t been as good as some of the hype has suggested, but there’s a player in there alright – he just needs to keep grating like the Buff and hopefully he’ll hit those heights,” the former Burnley man wrote in his column with the Daily Record.

Dessers wasn’t the only Rangers player omitted from Chelle’s team. Leon Balogun, who in recent times declared that he still wants to play for Nigeria wasn’t even included in the 39-man provisional squad list.

Nonetheless, the Super Eagles have thrived so far, selection regardless. They sealed a 2-0 win over the Amavubi of Rwanda last Friday.

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