Glasgow Rangers manager Philippe Clement must be rueing the fact he failed to add more firepower to his first team squad at Ibrox during the summer transfer window.
The Belgian will have to make do with Cyriel Dessers as Rangers' main option to lead the line, with new signing Hamza Igamane providing support from the bench.
Danilo, a summer 2023 signing under Michael Beale, has suffered a setback in his recovery from the serious knee injury he suffered last season.
This could rule him out for a month or so, piling the pressure on the threadbare options Clement has at his disposal.
Dessers has been in decent form this season so far, but once again, failed to net during an Old Firm derby game as Celtic won 3-0 at Parkhead last week.
The Nigerian must step up in games against quality opposition, no doubt about it.
Cyriel Dessers’ season in numbers
The Nigerian centre-forward is certainly a Jekyll and Hyde character among the Ibrox supporters. Some love his work rate and effort during games, whereas others believe he isn’t of the required quality for the Gers to win anything this term.
During the 2023/24 campaign, the 29-year-old scored 22 goals in all competitions, which, on the surface, represents a more than respectable debut term in Glasgow.
Take a deeper dive into his statistics, however, and it is clear Dessers should have scored a lot more than 22 goals. Indeed, in the Premiership alone, the striker missed 27 big chances across 35 matches.
His finishing skills clearly need some work, but so far this season, he has found the back of the net on five occasions in all competitions, while grabbing an assist.
Goals
3
Assists
0
Shots per game
3
Big chances missed
3
Total duels won
3.8
Key passes per game
0.8
His display against Celtic was poor, with the former Feyenoord centre-forward failing to score with his two shots on target, despite both being scoreable opportunities, while also losing possession on 16 occasions.
The Light Blues haven’t exactly enjoyed the best of seasons thus far, winning just three of their opening seven games in all competitions. Is Dessers really the man to fire the club to a league title this season?
Improvement will be required, that’s for certain. The club is lacking in the attacking department at this moment in time as the supporters wish they could have someone like Alfredo Morelos back in the team.
There is one striker, who left the club back in 2022, that has shone since moving away from Ibrox. That man is Cedric Itten.
Cedric Itten’s Rangers statistics
Ahead of the 2020/21 campaign, Steven Gerrard spent a lot on improving his attacking department, luring not only Kemar Roofe to the Gers but also Swiss centre-forward Itten, who joined from FC St Gallen.
Having scored 20 goals and chipping in with seven assists the season prior to his move to Rangers, it looked as though Gerrard had signed a striker with plenty of potential.
Unfortunately, his time at the Light Blues was poor, as Itten failed to live up to the hype generated upon his arrival.
The club won the Premiership title during his maiden season, but the Swiss striker scored only six goals across 37 appearances in all competitions.
These poor displays led Gerrard to loan him out to Bundesliga side Greuther Fürth, where he even scored against Bayern Munich yet failed to make much of a lasting impression during his short stint in Germany.
Giovanni Van Bronckhorst recalled him in January 2022, offering the player another chance in Glasgow, but he scored just twice between then and the end of the season, practically spelling the end of his time at the club.
During the summer transfer window ahead of the 2022/23 season, Itten was sold to BSC Young Boys for just £1.5m, which represented a loss on the fee they paid for him two years earlier.
Since he left, Itten has turned into a goalscoring machine.
What Cedric Itten has done since leaving Rangers
Not only has he shone back in his homeland, but his current market valuation has risen since his departure from Rangers.
According to Football Transfers, Itten is now worth £6m, which proves Young Boys have certainly hit the jackpot by signing him for such a low fee in 2022.
During his first season in Switzerland, the 27-year-old netted an impressive 23 goals and registered 12 assists for the club as they won the league and cup double.
Last season, he wasn’t quite as prolific, but still managed a tally of 13 goals, including one in the Champions League, as Young Boys retained their domestic title. The move had clearly turned into one of their finest pieces of business recently, especially judging by his record in front of goal.
After just nine games this term, Itten already has four goals, which means he has found the back of the net on 40 occasions since joining the club. Dessers, on the other hand, has scored 37 goals since the start of the 2022/23 season, three shy of Itten’s tally.
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This isn’t to say the club were wrong to sell him, but looking back, perhaps another chance under Van Bronckhorst may have given the player confidence to finally showcase his true talents.
He is clearly a solid centre-forward given his record over the previous two seasons, although perhaps the pressure of performing for a club like Rangers was too much for him to handle.
His goals would add some much-needed firepower to the current Gers side for Clement, who is having to rely heavily on Dessers, especially over the next few weeks.
Itten isn’t the first player the club have sold hastily, and surely won't be the last. Hopefully, Clement won't fall into that trap as he looks to build a squad capable of winning trophies and shining in Europe.
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