Super Eagles and Rangers centre forward Cyriel Dessers has been linked with an exit from the Record Scottish Champions all summer, Soccernet.ng reports.
The 30-year-old signed a long-term deal with his partner, Rosalie Deruysscher, in June, marrying her in Italy after winning the Unity Cup with the Nigerian National Team at the Gtech Community Stadium in Brentford.
The ex-Cremonese man had agreed a £30,000-per-week deal with the 13-time Greek Champions AEK Athens, but Rangers rejected the bid.
The SPFL Golden Boot winner also had an offer to return to Feyenoord, but talks have cooled in recent weeks as he’s currently nursing an ankle injury.
Dessers eyes Belgium return
The Nigerian International has had spells in Belgium before, with Lokeren, OH Leuven, and Genk, but has since moved around several clubs.
In an interview with Het Laatste Nieuws, Dessers revealed he had an offer from Raphael Onyedika‘s Club Brugge, but nothing concrete surfaced.
“There were indeed two contacts with Club (Brugge),” the one-time UEFA Conference League finalist said in quotes revealed by the Glasgow Times.
“Once when (Ivan) Leko was manager there, and the last time when I was playing for Cremonese, but that interest never materialised.”
Quizzed about the possibility of returning to the Belgian Pro League after two years of action in Scotland with Rangers, the Belgium-born Super Eagles star mentioned it’ll be like a return home.
“Why not? It’s still too early anyway, but I’ve been living abroad for quite a while, and I recently bought a house in Mechelen.
“There are a few Belgian teams I’m particularly fond of. “KV Mechelen is a fantastic club, and for the rest, I try to leave as many doors open as possible.
“You never know what a career will bring,” Dessers continued.
Rangers will play against Club Brugge at Ibrox tonight as they look to take the final leap into the UEFA Champions League Group phase.
Onyedika’s side knocked Ademola Lookman’s Atalanta out of the competition last season, and Dessers admitted the visitors are the favourites tonight.
“I think it’s clear that Club Brugge is the favourite. They’re a team that qualified in the Champions League (for the knockout stage) last year – that’s quite something, but I don’t think we’re an easy team to face either.
“People sometimes look down on the Scottish league – as if there are only two teams – but it’s really not that easy here.
“We were also in the quarter-finals of the Europa League last year and, with a bit more luck, could even have reached the semi-finals.
“Our team is optimistic about this match. We’ve always been strong in Europe at Ibrox in recent years,” Dessers concluded.
Dessers will be hoping to get involved in the away leg next week to boost his side’s chances of playing in the Champions League for the first time since the 2022/2023 season, when they lost all six group games after they were drawn against Napoli, Ajax and Liverpool.