adminIn the years since Alfredo Morelos’ Ibrox decline, Glasgow Rangers have gone through strikers at an astonishing rate, yet they have still struggled to find that reliable leading man in attack.
Few of those to arrive in Glasgow have been quite as divisive as Cyriel Dessers, with the Nigerian forward splitting opinion and commanding plenty of headlines throughout his two-year spell at the club.
While arguably one of Rangers’ more productive striker recruits in recent seasons when it comes to his goalscoring record, Dessers is unlikely to be remembered particularly fondly due to his wastefulness, with the forward repeatedly missing clear-cut opportunities for the Light Blues.
Not exactly a universally popular figure at Ibrox, then, but does that make him the worst number nine Rangers have signed in recent memory?
How Dessers compares to recent striker signings at Rangers
As mentioned above, Dessers’ Rangers numbers were not particularly poor on the surface, especially when compared with some of his fellow recruits, having registered 51 goals in 116 appearances across all competitions.
During the 2023/24 and 2024/25 campaigns, he netted 16 and 18 Premiership goals respectively, a respectable return for the former Cremonense forward, especially amid a period of considerable upheaval at Ibrox.
However, looking beyond the basic numbers makes it easier to understand why the 31-year-old became such a controversial figure in Glasgow, having squandered a remarkable 47 ‘big chances’ across his two full Premiership seasons.
Perhaps the most significant criticism was his limited influence in the biggest matches, with his record against rivals Celtic proving particularly underwhelming.
Overall, Dessers played 11 times in the Old Firm, facing Celtic more often than any other opponent in his career to date. The outcome? Only two goals, coming in May 2024 and May 2025 following the post-split fixtures.
New arrival Kevin Kelsy already appears capable of surpassing that tally, judging by his impressive derby debut last time out, while Youssef Chermiti has already found the net four times in this fixture after his heroics earlier this year.
The current quintet of Rangers strikers will hopefully enjoy considerably more success than Dessers managed, although the table above also demonstrates that the Nigerian was far from the only transfer gamble to fail in recent years.
Why Rangers have wasted millions on a worse signing than Dessers
The summer of 2023 represented a major turning point at Ibrox, with that transfer window seeing both Ryan Kent and the aforementioned Morelos leave on free transfers. The squad that had lifted the title under Steven Gerrard had been gradually dismantled in the seasons that followed.
Morelos’ departure, which came after a relatively subdued final period in Glasgow, created an obvious requirement for Rangers to find a capable replacement to lead the line, with very few players managing to replicate the Colombian’s goalscoring impact.
Ultimately, it could be argued that Michael Beale and his recruitment team prioritised quantity over quality, investing heavily in three centre-forwards that summer in the form of Dessers, Danilo and Sam Lammers.
With Dessers, Rangers at least received some return on their investment given his respectable goalscoring numbers. Lammers, meanwhile, was moved on almost as quickly as he arrived after failing to convince during his time in Scottish football.
The biggest mistake of the trio, however, was arguably the signing of Danilo, with the Brazilian still technically contracted to Rangers despite being sent out on loan to Botafogo in July.
The club’s inability to secure a permanent departure for the 27-year-old, following three largely forgettable years at Ibrox, underlines just how disappointing the transfer has been, particularly given that Rangers paid £6m to sign him from Feyenoord.
Naturally, injuries have played a major role in Danilo’s struggles over recent seasons, although even when available, his goalscoring output has been underwhelming, with only 16 goals in 76 appearances overall.
That is particularly disappointing considering the striker had previously scored nine goals in 20 appearances for Ajax, 14 in 48 for Feyenoord and 17 in 34 for FC Twente. While hardly an elite goalscorer, he had shown an ability to contribute a reasonable number of goals.
Unfortunately, leaving the Netherlands has not worked out for either the player or Rangers, with Danilo returning to the Eredivisie on loan in January to join NEC Nijmegen.
With current club Botafogo reportedly holding a conditional obligation to purchase him, the expectation is that, providing everything goes according to plan, he will finally leave permanently in 2027, bringing an end to what has been a costly spell on the Rangers wage bill.
Reportedly taking home £26k-per-week, or around £1.3m annually, that amounts to approximately £3m in wages so far when his periods away on loan are excluded. That is a substantial outlay when combined with the original £6m transfer fee.
Spending £9m on a player who has scored just 16 goals in more than 70 appearances makes for bleak reading, with Derek McInnes and his recruitment team hoping their current crop of forwards can avoid suffering the same fate in the years ahead.
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