“Fight to sign him” – Ex-Beşiktaş forward weighs in on Dessers Europa League performance

Former Beşiktaş and Turkish forward, Nihat Kahveci, has praised Rangers and Super Eagles striker, Cyriel Kolawole Dessers for his brilliant performance in the UEFA Europa League, Soccernet.ng reports.

The 30-year-old has been in decent form for the Gers this season, scoring 22 goals and providing seven assists in 43 games across all competitions.

Dessers scored his side’s opener against Jose Mourinho‘s Fenerbahce and provided the assist for Rangers’ second. The former Cremonese man could’ve scored a hat-trick, but two of those goals were ruled out for a tight offside.

Dessers’ going around Fenerbahce’s Irfan Egribayat to open the scoring for Rangers in the UEFA Europa League. [Photo Credit/ X].

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With Rangers sealing a 3-1 win in Turkey, Nihat was full of praise for Dessers, admitting several top clubs should be fighting to sign the Super Eagles forward.

“I still can’t believe what we watched, but let’s be honest here – it should have been 5-1, and if Cyriel Dessers’ shoulder weren’t as muscly, it would have been. Every top club in Turkey should be fighting to sign him, but there were plenty of others,” the 45-year-old said in quotes revealed by the Daily Record.

Cyriel Dessers celebrates after scoring the first goal of his team during the UEFA Europa League match between Fenerbahce SK and Rangers FC at Ulker Sukru Saracoglu Stadium on March 6, 2025. [Photo Credit/ Imago].
Additionally, the former Turkey International was full of praise for Ivorian midfielder, Mohamed Diomande, comparing the 23-year-old to Zenidine Zidane.

Mohamed Diomande was brilliant – like the best of Zinedine Zidane – thank God they substituted him. And what a player Vaclav Cerny is. Honestly, the goals Rangers scored were like from a Playstation game – they were all so easy for them.

“How can Fenerbahce – a team who restricted Galatasaray to almost no chances at goal last week – give Rangers so many opportunities?

Jose Mourinho went all-out attack in the second half and treated a team like Rangers like they were playing Rizespor. It was incredible because Fenerbahce were in such good form and then produced that. It was a crazy match and the tie should be over,” Nihat concluded.

Sebastian Szymanski and Mohammed Diomande during the match between Fenerbahce SK and Rangers FC at Ulker Sukru Saracoglu Stadium on March 6, 2025. [Photo Credit/ Imago].
Rangers have a strong lead heading into the second leg at home in Ibrox. They also have a week’s break, with no domestic game during the weekend.

Adefolahan Guerreiro

Adefolahan is a multilingual journalist and writer at Soccernet Nigeria. With a track record of involvement in College sports, Adefolahan is focused on crafting engaging football content and utilising his language skills and extensive sports knowledge to enhance content accessibility for a global audience. He has interviewed Nigerian stars like Finidi George, Junior Lokosa, and Abraham Onahi Ogbu.

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