With Cyriel Dessers staying at Ibrox until the end of the season at least, Rangers fans will be hoping his burst of activity just before the transfer deadline wasn’t merely a case of the striker putting himself in the shop window.
The fabulous goal at Old Trafford, his superb performance against Union Saint-Gilloise when he did as much as anyone to push Philippe Clement’s team towards the last 16 of the Europa League, the wonder strike that sealed all three points at Tannadice … this did not appear to be the same man who has blown it too often for those of a light blue persuasion.
Now Dessers’ agent is claiming that the Nigeria international had no less than TEN offers to leave Clement’s team before the window slammed shut.
So, after a belated polishing of his reputation last month, why the heck didn’t he go? Why didn’t he take the chance to leave all those naysayers behind?
Turns out it was a case of most of those suitors only wanting to sample the goods on loan, rather than Rangers getting a decent offer from a club willing to take a chance on him permanently.
Following reported interest from a number of sides in Serie A and MLS, Dessers’ representative Stijn Francis, claimed: ‘He had ten offers, but the market is much more difficult at that time. Many wanted to rent him, but Rangers only wanted to sell. And that is not ideal for the player’s focus.’
Philippe Clement couldn’t cash in on Cyriel Dessers because suitors only wanted him on loan
Dessers’ agent said there were ten offers for player following his wonder goal at Old Trafford
Dessers will be staying at Rangers for time being, with summer departure still a possibility
So that’s that, then, albeit the door clearly remains open for a summer move.
Now that Dessers’ focus has supposedly been sharpened, Rangers supporters will understandably be anticipating more of the scintillating form that helped light up the days leading up to the closing of the winter window.
The 30-year-old striker looked like a surefire bet for a departure when he slipped behind Hamza Igamane and the now injured Danilo in the pecking order.
It’s time for him to show a long-suffering support what he’s all about on a consistent basis.
Ibrox-bound Cameron has more than just a footballing brain
Lyall Cameron will be determined to become one of the shining lights in the Rangers midfield when he joins them from Dundee in the summer.
What seems certain is that the young Scot will be one of the brightest sparks in their dressing room.
When he was struggling to get a game while on loan from the Dark Blues to Peterhead a few years back, his bleak prospects in the professional game pushed him to sign up for an open university degree.
‘I started doing Maths and Economics at uni because you never know what might happen,’ he recently explained.
Dundee star Lyall Cameron took an open university degree when his prospects in the game were bleak
The Dundee player has proved such a bright spark on pitch he is now moving to Rangers
‘It is a totally different thing to focus on at times. I never get too caught up in football.
‘I never get too high if I have a good game or too low if I have a bad game. It takes you away from it and makes you focus on something else and you can go into the next game with a clear head.’
Rangers have clearly signed him for his football brain, too.
One of the stars of Dundee’s promotion season last year, the diminutive midfielder admits he’s always been driven by a desire to prove his doubters wrong.
‘I think I had a lot of people to prove wrong, with my size and stuff,’ he added.
‘One that comes into my head straightaway is Antoine Griezmann, obviously he has still done a lot better than me in football, right enough!
‘He was told at an early age that he was too small as well. I think it is always going to be a thing, isn’t it?
‘People see your physicality side and automatically it is a cross against your name, but I think you just need to prove them wrong and work as hard as the guy next to you and make as many tackles as the guy next to you and try and do well.’
Matondo needs to overcome those mystery ‘obstacles’ at Ibrox
Rangers winger Rabbi Matondo could hardly have asked for a better debut after sealing his loan move to Hannover 96.
Rabbi Matondo got off to perfect start with goal for Hannover 96 against Hamburg
The 24-year-old Wales international came on as a substitute against Hamburg last Sunday and immediately put his new team in front.
Had it not been for a late equaliser, it would have been the perfect start for Matondo, who sounds like he is relishing the change of scenery.
On an Instagram post later, he spoke about it being a great moment for his family, before adding: ‘It’s been a tough season so far not gonna lie with all types of obstacles thrown my way but I guess that’s life at times.’
Obstacles? Matondo had his injury troubles at Ibrox, that’s for sure, but his remark was cryptic enough to leave many wondering just what he meant.
Certainly, the player who cost Rangers around £3million in 2022 never justified the outlay and has been left in little doubt that he has no future under Philippe Clement.
Hannover have an option to buy Matondo at the end of the season, with £1m thought to be the required fee, but they will only do that if they win promotion from Bundesliga 2.
Currently sixth in the table, five points behind Koln, they have ground to make up. If Matondo doesn’t want an awkward return to Ibrox in the summer, when there will be a year of his contract still to run, he knows what he needs to do.
This was a less than divine debut for loan Ranger
Adam Devine will not forget last Saturday in a hurry. The young Rangers full-back finalised a loan deal, made a debut for his new club and was sent off in the space of just a few crazy hours.
In the morning, Queen’s Park confirmed they had signed the 21-year-old product of Rangers’ youth academy on a contract that will last until the end of the season.
Adam Devine was sent off on his loan debut for Queen’s Park against Airdrieonians
Early in the afternoon, he was named in Callum Davidson’s starting line-up for a league game at Airdrie, whose battle against relegation has taken a turn for the better in recent weeks.
By the end of a 2-1 defeat in which his inch-perfect pass had set up an equaliser for Josh Scott, Devine found himself sent off in the most controversial circumstances.
The referee had refused to award a stoppage-time penalty to Queen’s Park when defender Lewis McGregor’s high boot caught Devine in the head. Davidson later described it as a ‘kung-fu kick’.
Devine, booked in the first half, protested to the referee and was promptly sent off. Davidson was also red-carded for complaining about the climax to a match in which his team had conceded two penalties.
Out of the picture at Ibrox since Philippe Clement took over, Devine moved away to get much-needed game time in the final six months of his contract. Let’s just say a suspension after one appearance is not what he had in mind.
Potter clearly has the magic touch with Treble-chasing women
While it’s a bit early to say they are closing in on a historic domestic Treble, Jo Potter and her Rangers players are still competing for every trophy in Scotland.
Having reached the Sky Sports Cup final by knocking out Celtic last month, they are now through to the quarter-finals of the Scottish Cup thanks to a 7-0 thumping of Montrose on Sunday.
Three goals in the first half, followed by four in the second, swept aside their Angus opponents and set up a last-eight tie with Spartans, scheduled to be played at Broadwood on March 9.
Even better, Potter was able to make seven changes, rest a few players and experiment with one or two tactical changes, including a switch that had Jodi McLeary operating in central midfield.
Jo Potter gets her message across to Rangers players, and they are clearly taking it on board
The Rangers manager is still in with a shout of steering her team to a historic Treble
The seven goals took Rangers’ tally to 26 in their last four games. Mia McAulay and Kirsty Howard scored two each, while Chelsea Cornet, Rio Hardy and Katie Wilkinson also got on the scoresheet.
As Potter admitted later, it sets Rangers up nicely for the business end of a title race in which they are just two points behind joint leaders Glasgow City and Celtic.
‘It was important that we used our squad and utilised it really well,’ Potter said. ‘The players that came in did excellent and put on a really good show.
‘We are in the hat for both cups which is superb for us. We just need to make sure that we continue what we need to do and keep that form going. Leading into the split, it is going to be vital.’