Rangers could ditch Dessers in swoop for £3m star who ‘wants the move’

After a summer that was framed as a rebuild of the squad by those in power at Glasgow Rangers, the first game of the new season could easily have been slotted in as one of the matches from the 2023/24 campaign.

The starting XI in the 0-0 draw with Hearts on Saturday featured just one player – Connor Barron – who was not at Ibrox during the second half of last term.

Philippe Clement‘s side scored eight goals fewer than the eventual champions in the Scottish Premiership last season and their lack of threat at the top end of the pitch cost them once again.

The Ibrox giants only created 0.9 xG worth of chances throughout the match and squandered the few opportunities that they were able to create.

As you can see in the table above, Cyriel Dessers was a particularly poor performer against the Jam Tarts, with two ‘big chances’ missed and zero chances created for his teammates.

Clement could finally ditch the Nigerian dud by swooping to sign one of the players from the opposition’s team before the end of the summer transfer window.

Premiership star wants Rangers move

Pundit Chris Sutton, who was on Sky Sports’ coverage of the game on Saturday, claimed that he has heard that Lawrence Shankland “wants the move” to Ibrox, as relayed by RangersNews.

The former Celtic striker described the Scotland international as a “ruthless” finisher who could come in as an upgrade on the club’s current forward line options, including Danilo and Dessers.

Shankland did not find the back of the net against the Gers, with zero ‘big chances’ created for him, but did win 12 of his 17 duels to showcase his physical attributes.

Last month, the Daily Record reported that Clement is weighing up a swoop to sign the Hearts captain this summer to bolster his playing squad.