Breaking News:Rangers gets goal rush back as Champions League qualification provides a caveat
Alan Hutton is adamant Rangers frontman Cyriel Dessers will continue to prove his critics wrong this season by replicating his goals tally from his debut campaign at Ibrox.
The enigmatic striker notched 22 goals during his first season in Glasgow after arriving from Italian Serie A side Cremonese for £4.2m last summer under Michael Beale, but has still been the subject of intense criticism from a section of the Gers support.
The 29-year-old was linked with a move to Greek giants PAOK earlier this summer and transfer speculation has continued to linger in recent weeks, despite Dessers getting off the mark for the new campaign by scoring a last-gasp equaliser against Dynamo Kyiv in their Champions League qualifier in midweek.
Reflecting on Rangers start to the season, Hutton said: “They didn’t get off to the start they wanted against Hearts, we know that. But I think going over to play in Poland against a difficult Dynamo team, who beat Partizan Belgrade 9-2 on aggregate and won 6-2 at home, there were some nerves from everyone going over there. So to play and match up to a team that were strong will do their confidence the world of good.
“Dessers did really well. He held the ball up, he was a nuisance to the defenders and was big and physical. To get his goal right at the end, that matched up to his performance. He deserved that on the night. The happiness and the confidence that will give him moving forward, you really hope that will allow him to kick on and score the goals that he needs to.”
Asked if he was in Philippe Clement’s position, how determined would he be to keep hold of the Nigerian striker amid swirling transfer rumours, Hutton replied: “I think you have to. I understand there’s been rumours circulating about him but he’s your main number nine at this moment in time. Danilo is back in the fold now after a serious injury, (Kemar) Roofe is out the building.
“So unless you’re going to bring in someone else to help lighten the load, he’s your main threat. You just hope he can turn some of those half-chances into goals, that’s probably the next level for him because his numbers were good last season. But he’s capable. I would (back him to replicate last season) given the way Rangers play. They create opportunities, whether they’re at home or away.
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