'God forbid' - Pundit reacts to Rangers striker transfer update after player refuses to leave

Rangers not signing another striker before the transfer window closes is a worry since everything now relies so heavily on Cyriel Dessers, according to Derek Ferguson.

Luca Bendoni reported via X on 20 August that a £4.5million deal for the Nigerian international was in the offing with Atlanta United but no agreement could be reached with him.

And according to Chris Jack for on The Rangers Review’s website on 27 August the MLS exit not happening means a new number nine is now not expected to arrive before the deadline.

Ferguson is glad the Dessers deal didn’t go through because in a half-fit Danilo and an unseen Hamza Igamane the Gers have nothing else to turn to, but he is concerned if another signing isn’t going to be made.

Speaking exclusively to Ibrox News he said: “For a club the size of Rangers, and if you want to challenge Celtic, you need players to come in and challenge.

“Nobody’s challenging Dessers at the moment and this is why you applaud him for his attitude because the amount of abuse and criticism he’s took he could quite easily just say, ‘Right, I’m off, get me another club’.

“But he refused to leave last week so we’ve just got to thank our lucky stars at the moment that he’s banging in the goals. God forbid if he gets injured because we are really going to struggle and I don’t see anybody in the B Team as well.

“That’s a worry. We need cover up top. We need cover in a lot of positions. But that one, the way Clement plays his football, that is a worry if he was to get injured or leave the club.”

Philippe Clement heavily reliant on Cyriel Dessers at Rangers

Rangers are between a rock and a hard place this late in the window when Dessers is both the only striker option they could realistically sell and also the man they are relying on at the position.

The former Cremonese forward rebounded from a rough start to life in Glasgow to score 22 times last season when all around him were succumbing to injury or poor form, and he has already scored five more this term with no viable alternatives.

For that he deserves credit and for all his faults the current hopes of the side rest on his shoulders, but amid links to the likes of Hearts captain Lawrence Shankland [Daily Record, 2 August] and now-Sparta Prague striker Albion Rrahmani [Football Scotland, 17 June] this summer there had long been an assumption a new number one would arrive.

Spending money on a project like Igamane earlier in the summer has proven to be a gamble, which will need to pay off in the long run.

And while Vaclav Cerny has impressed on loan from Wolfsburg so far fans may have preferred Sam Lammers to have been replaced by another centre-forward.

In other Rangers news, the Light Blues will be making another late signing in another position.

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