Cyriel Dessers dreaming of Rangers success in Europe as striker looks to wipe away Conference League final pain

Rangers new boy Cyriel Dessers admits he’s desperate to wipe away his European heartache at Ibrox.

The new Nigerian ace was part of the Feyenoord side that fought its way through to the final of the inaugural Conference League in 2021. But there was only trauma in Tirana as his Dutch side were edged out by Jose Mourinho’s Roma side. Dessers said: “If you’ve been to the final and get that close to winning a really big trophy then it hurts. But it makes your hunger also even bigger to finally lift a really big trophy. To do that at Rangers would be a dream of course.”

It was Dessers goals that propelled the Rotterdam side all the way to the final of UEFA’s new tournament. But while he was shooting his way through the Conference League, his new side were also whipping up a storm in the Europa. And the 28-year-old he admits he was cheering on as Gio van Bronckhorst’s team had their own fateful date with destiny in Seville.

Dessers - who was first approached about a move to Ibrox in 2019 - said: “Since I had that first contact with Rangers four years ago I’ve been following the club a little bit. So of course I saw their run to Seville. It was amazing. We were in a training camp in Portugal with Feyenoord preparing for our own final in the Conference League that week and of course we watched the Europa League final. I was hoping for a Rangers win but unfortunately it didn’t happen.”

Belgian-born Dessers was first approached by Gers in 2019 when he was in red-hot form with 20 goals for Dutch outfit Hercules. He had other options this summer after Cremonese’s relegation from Serie A but opted for a switch to Scotland after being persuaded by boss Michael Beale’s personal touch.

He said: ”The coach came to visit me in Italy. His