Glasgow Rangers will play Club Brugge in the play-off round of the Champions League qualifiers with a chance to reach the league phase of the competition.
The Gers booked their place in the play-off round with a 4-2 aggregate win over Viktoria Plzen in the last eight days, which was largely thanks to their 3-0 win at Ibrox last week.
Despite a 2-1 defeat away to the Czechia-based outfit on Tuesday night, Russell Martin will be delighted that his team have navigated two Champions League qualifying ties already.
What the former Southampton boss will not be best pleased with, though, is that one of his star players could be facing a significant period on the sidelines.
Cyriel Dessers hobbled off the pitch with an injury against Viktoria Plzen and Martin confirmed after the game that the forward has suffered a “nasty” injury to his ankle.
It now remains to be seen how long the Nigeria international will be out of action for, as the Scottish giants need to wait on the results of a medical scan.
Why Rangers would need to replace Cyriel Dessers
The Light Blues would need to replace the former Cremonese centre-forward in the summer transfer window if this injury is as ‘nasty’ as Martin suggests, and he is out for a significant period of time.
This is because, as it stands, Danilo is the only fit senior number nine in the squad, with Dessers and Hamza Igamane currently sidelined. That is a concern because the Brazilian forward has a worrying fitness record of his own.
The ex-Feyenoord attacker has missed 53 matches through injury in the last two seasons, per Transfermarkt. This means that Martin cannot rely on him to be available week-in-week-out, as the striker has not proven that he has the durability to be consistently available for the Light Blues over the course of an entire campaign.
Therefore, a potentially long-term injury to Dessers, who scored against Viktoria Plzen in the first leg at Ibrox, would result in the Gers needing to find a new centre-forward to lead the line.
Appearances
35
Goals
18
Big chances missed
21
Duels won per game
2.0
Ground duel success rate
34%
Aerial duel success rate
31%
Duel success rate
33%
As you can see in the table above, the Nigerian forward was not perfect in the Scottish Premiership last term, as he missed 21 ‘big chances’ and lost the majority of his duels on the ground and in the air.
What you cannot dispute with Dessers, though, is that he does score goals. 18 goals in 35 appearances, despite not being very clinical with the chances that came his way, is not a horrendous return for the attacker.
This is why Rangers will need to sign a new striker to ensure that they carry enough of a threat at the top end of the pitch if it turns out that the 30-year-old marksman is set for a lengthy spell on the sidelines.
With this in mind, the Light Blues must react to his ‘nasty’ injury blow by swooping to sign one of their reported transfer targets before the end of the window.
Transfer Focus
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Last month, it was reported that Rangers were interested in a deal to bring Girona centre-forward Bojan Miovski back to Scotland, 12 months on from his move to Spain from Aberdeen.
Why Rangers should sign Bojan Miovski
The Light Blues must swoop to sign the striker, who was signed for £7m last summer, as a reaction to the injury to Dessers, as he is a proven Premiership striker who would be the perfect addition for this situation.
Estadio Deportivo reported earlier this week that Miovski is likely to move on from Girona, in order for them to sign another number nine, which suggests that the door is open for the Gers to bring him to Ibrox.
With this in mind, Rangers should move to bring him in to ensure that Martin has a striker whom he can rely on to score goals on a regular basis in the Premiership if Dessers, who scored 18 in the league last term, is not going to be available for the foreseeable future.
Danilo, who also has his aforementioned injury issues, has only scored nine Premiership goals in just over two seasons with the Light Blues, per Sofascore, which does not suggest that he is likely to step up and be the main man for goals for the manager.
Miovski, who has scored against Rangers in the past for Aberdeen, is a striker who would be able to come in and hit the ground running as someone who has already shown that he can score goals on a consistent basis in the Scottish top-flight.
xG
15.60
17.08
xG on target
18.36
17.60
Goals
16
16
Shots on target
36
44
Chances created
27
23
Assists
2
2
As you can see in the table above, the left-footed attacker enjoyed two very impressive seasons in the Premiership during his time with the Dons, scoring 32 goals.
Whilst he ‘underperformed’ against his xG in the 2023/24 campaign, his xG on target (the quality of his shots) suggests that it was more down to high-quality goalkeeping than poor finishing.
The Macedonia international, who was described as a “complete number 9” by journalist Josh Bunting, has shown that he can perform well against his xG, given the quality of his shots across both seasons, and score goals at an impressive rate in the division.
That is why, given the recent update on his availability, Rangers should be making a move to formalise their interest in him as a reaction to the injury to Dessers, as he would be a perfect replacement for the Nigeria international.
It is now down to the board, though, to back Martin with a move for the £7m-rated marksman to truly bolster the team’s attack before the end of the window.
