With many Nigerian players celebrating their birthdays in December, the Nigerian football community also celebrates the stars, aside from the feeling of Christmas that comes with it.

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Among these players are Napoli-owned forward Victor Osimhen, Fenerbahce defender Bright Osayi-Samuel, and Bayer Leverkusen forward Victor Boniface.

Here’s a closer look at these footballers who share the joy of December birthdays:

Victor Osimhen – December 29

Napoli-owned striker, and Nigeria’s poster boy, Victor Osimhen, was born on December 29, 1998. The Serie A champion has had a phenomenal year with Napoli, Galatasaray, and even the Super Eagles team, scoring goals at will.

 

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On his birthday, the Nigerian shared pictures of himself and his daughter, Haly, with a cake emoji, followed by comments from stars from all spheres of the world.

Bright Osayi-Samuel – December 31

Osayi-Samuel, who is known for his pace, was born on December 31, 1997. The Fenerbahçe right back has been a key asset for both club and country, having showcased his defensive and attacking abilities. Ending the year with a birthday celebration is a fitting highlight for the hard-working player.

 

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Calvin Bassey – December 31

Calvin Bassey, Fulham’s reliable defender, also shares a December 31 birthday, born in 1999. The centre-back has grown into a dependable figure in the Premier League and for the Super Eagles.

The Nigerian football community will hope his birthday celebrations propel him to new heights in 2024.

Victor Boniface – December 23

Bayer Leverkusen’s rising star Victor Boniface was born on December 23, 2000. The young forward has taken the Bundesliga by storm, earning accolades as one of the league’s top performers this season.

 

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Turning 24, Boniface is undoubtedly one of Nigeria’s brightest prospects.

Cyriel Dessers – December 8

Cyriel Dessers was born on December 8, 1994. Currently playing for Rangers FC, Dessers has made a name for himself with his clinical finishing and work ethic. As he celebrates his 30th birthday, the Super Eagles forward continues to inspire with his journey.

Wilfred Ndidi – December 16

Born December 16, 1996, Wilfred Ndidi remains one of Nigeria’s most consistent midfielders. The Leicester City player is known for his defensive and leadership qualities. Ndidi’s birthday came with a post of himself beside the pool and the caption “Gift from God.”

The 30-year-old last started a game for Philippe Clement’s side over a month ago, and after losing his starting spot to Hamza Igamane and Danilo in recent weeks, was given an opportunity against Motherwell yesterday, but it didn’t go well for the Nigerian.

In a quick turn of events, Motherwell were two goals up by 35 minutes. Dessers had the chance to pull one back for the Gers after a brilliant cross from Turkish full-back, Ridvan Yilmaz, fizzled across the two opposition centre-backs, but Dessers couldn’t make proper contact and fluffed his chance.

As a result, the former Cremonese man was withdrawn at half-time and was replaced by Moroccan U-23 striker, Igamane, who scored a brace to steal a point for Rangers at the Fir Park.

Ferguson, reacting to the coach’s decision to take Dessers off at half-time, revealed the manager was justified as the Super Eagles forward should have found the back of the net.

“It has to be a goal, simple as. Ridvan Yilmaz’s cross is bang on the money, and Cyriel Dessers should be scoring,” the 57-year-old said on BBC Sportssound.

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Dessers’ time at Ibrox has been marked by highs and lows as he’s struggled to gain the trust of the fans despite the constant backing of his manager, Philippe Clement.

Now third in the striking pecking order, the Nigerian could make his way out of the club in January, with the Gers requesting around $5.5m for the services of the ex-Feyenoord man. French Ligue 1 side, AS Saint-Etienne are looking to bring Dessers in on loan when the winter transfer windows.

The 30-year-old was Rangers’ top striker last season but has seen his place in the team snatched away by Moroccan youngster, Hamza Igamane.

To make things worse for the Nigerian forward, Brazilian striker, Danilo, recently returned from injury and has been in the goals for Philippe Clement’s side.

As per the Scottish Sun, the SPFL giants are getting serious in their pursuit of one of the top strikers in South African League, in the person of Iqraam Rayners, who’s the current highest goal scorer in the country’s top-flight.

The Gers have been keeping a close eye on the forward and it has been confirmed that interest has intensified in the past few days. It is believed that the Ibrox club are now serious about submitting a bid and have made an enquiry for the 29-year-old forward.

With interest in Rayners high, many have tipped Dessers to make way amongst Rangers’ trio of strikers, with his efficiency in front of goal constantly getting questioned.

French Ligue 1 side, AS Saint-Etienne, have registered interest in Dessers as they look to escape the relegation zone, but it is currently unknown if the Nigerian is interested in the move.

The former Cremonese striker, in the past month at Ibrox, has seen his career go downhill. Despite not being a fan favourite, Dessers produced decent numbers for the Gers in front of goal, but it was only a matter of time before his profilgacy caught up with him.

Hamza Igamane’s return from injury and Danilo’s goal-scoring form saw the 29-year-old quickly fall down the pecking order for Philippe Clemente’s side.

He came on in the League Cup final against Celtic, but couldn’t help his side break the edge. To complicate things, Dessers shied away from the side’s penalty shootout as they lost yet another title to their rivals. In pale comparison, Rangers’ goalkeeper, Jack Butland took a spot kick.

“If you have the Rangers number nine jersey on your back you should be stepping up to take a penalty in a shoot-out, but, it’s a bigger man that walks away if he doesn’t feel right for it. I always think your goalscorer should be taking our penalties because it’s an opportunity to score a goal.

I was very surprised to see him not take it but I don’t know how he was feeling physically or mentally so if there’s something wrong it’s a bigger man actually who says ‘no, I’m not physically or mentally prepared for this’. I don’t know if that was the case with Dessers.

Rangers forwards, all forwards in fact, need to score goals but if you have got a problem physically or mentally and you’re not up for it for whatever reason then it’s the correct thing to do,” the 62-year-old said in quotes revealed by the Daily Record.

Things may get complicated for Dessers as he needs playing time to regain his confidence, but he’ll most likely get it elsewhere, as Ligue 1 side, Saint-Etienne have registered interest in him.

The 29-year-old has had a decent goal-contribution output for The Gers since joining last summer, scoring 34 goals and providing 13 assists in 80 games. However, he’s been unable to win over the hearts of the fans at the club due to his inconsistency in front of goal.

As a result, the former Cremonese striker has seen his playing time reduce this season, with Hamza Igamane back in form and Danilo regaining full fitness.

Dessers came on in Rangers’ Sports Cup final clash against their rivals, Celtic, but the Gers lost on penalties, and the Nigerian striker was under fire again for not taking a spot kick, particularly because the club’s goalkeeper, Jack Butland took a penalty, hinting Dessers shied away from taking responsibility.

The former Feyenoord striker was linked with a move to the MLS in the summer, but he opted to stay put, and could now be on the move again when the transfer window opens in January.

According to French outlet, Le Republicain Sportif , ten-times Ligue 1 winners, AS Saint-Etienne, have a strong interest in signing Dessers, and with the Nigerian third in the striker’s pecking order at Hampden Park, it is only imperative to find more playing time elsewhere.

The report revealed that Rangers would be looking for a fee of around £3.5million for the striker, who is under contract at Ibrox until 2027.

Saint-Etienne are currently 16th on the Ligue 1 table with 13 points from their opening 15 games. They’ve also scored just twelve league goals this season, the same as Dessers in all competitions this campaign.

While Dessers will be a great addition to the French side as they look to avoid relegation, it is highly doubted that he’ll be willing to ditch European football at this stage of his career.

Dessers has been decent for Rangers since he joined the club from Italian club Cremonese in a €5 million transfer in 2023. The Nigerian striker has produced 34 goals and 12 assists in 77 appearances.

However, most Rangers fans have been unsatisfied with his performances during to his low conversion rate. Dessers has developed a knack for missing clear-cut chances, and this has made even Rangers fans troll him.

Despite the criticisms the 29-year-old has gotten, Clement has always backed him, until recently. Dessers has not started the Gers’ last three games in all competitions, with Danilo and Hamza Igamane getting the nod ahead of him.

Now, according to Ibrox News, Rangers are even looking to sign another strike in January. And this could mean that Dessers’ place in the first team is in danger. Hence, he could be forced to start looking for a new club.

The Nigeria international still has two years left on his contract, so Rangers could still make a substantial fee from a sale.

Nonetheless, nothing is confirmed yet, as Dessers could still reclaim his starting shirt at Rangers.

In the Belgian League cup, Genk forward, Tolu Arokodare scored the equaliser for his side in their 2-1 win over their rivals, Standard Liege, to qualify for the next round.

Andi Zeqiri broke the deadlock for the away side in the 65th minute before Arokodare levelled the scores seven minutes later. Both sides dragged the game into extra time before a strike from Patrik Hrosovosky in the 115th minute sent Genk to the next round.

In the English Premier League, Joe Ayodele Aribo found his scoring touch, scoring his second goal of the season against Chelsea in front of the St. Mary’s crowd.

Axel Disasi broke the deadlock for Enzo Maresca’s Blues seven minutes into the game, but brilliant footwork from Kyle Walker-Peters left Enzo Fernandez in wonderland before the Englishman squared the ball for Aribo to tap home beyond Filip Jörgensen.

Things went south for Martin Russell’s Southampton real quick, as defensive errors saw Christopher Nkuku and Noni Madueke find the back of the net. A few minutes later, it went from bad to worse for the Saint’s, as their captain, Jack Stephens, was given his marching orders for pulling Marc Cucurella’s hair.

Goals from Jadon Sancho and Cole Palmer completed the route for the London-based side.

In the Scottish League, Cyriel Dessers returned to goalscoring ways with a double in his side’s 6-0 win over Kilmarnock.

Prior to last night, the Nigerian last scored twenty-three days ago and saw his place in Rangers’ starting lineup taken.

Having been on the bench for the past three games, the former Cremonese man took his chances properly in front of the Ibrox fans last night to push The Gers closer to second place on the league table.

The 29-year-old Nigerian forward has been Rangers’ first choice striker since joining last season, but has continuously struggled to win over the Ibrox fans due to his inconsistency in front of goal.

Philippe Clement opted to leave the Super Eagles forward on the bench in Rangers’ UEFA Europa League clash against OGC Nice, preferring Moroccan Hamza Igamane in his stead.

Igamane scored a brace and was taken off for Dessers with half an hour left on the clock, but the former Cremonese striker didn’t help his cause as he scuffed a chance from six yards out. As a result, he was left on the bench again on Sunday, and didn’t come on at all.

Naismith, who donned the Rangers’ colours between 2007 and 2012, revealed the coach is in a tough situation, but then mentioned the treatment wasn’t proper.

“That’s probably the biggest frustration for the manager. He’s got three forwards who are all slightly different in their type of profile as a player.

For any Rangers forward it is about the consistency. You see it through the years, strikers who consistently score goals or are involved in goals. Dessers has done that the most but has took a bit of criticism recently.

He (Clement) is searching for that one guy who is going to stand up and consistently hit the net, which eases everything for a Rangers performance,” the former Norwich City midfielder said in on BBC UK via Sportscene.

Quizzed about who would be his preferred option to lead the line for the Gers, the 38-year-old said;

“I don’t think it’s so much about what one. It’s about the build-up of the games, who we’re playing against. Igamane in midweek had a brilliant performance. He had a calmness in front of goal and his work rate to create the goals was great, but today, you see the first pass in the clip, he gives it to St Johnstone which kills the attack.

His performance never really got going today but then the manager bringing Danilo on instead of Dessers probably tells you he is unsure of all three,” Naismith concluded.

In 22 games for Rangers this season, Cyriel Dessers has scored 10 goals and provided two assists, and has the most goal contributions in the team since joining from Cremonese last summer.

The Gers took another positive step towards qualification for the next round of the Europa League with a brilliant display against Nice at the Allianz Arena, Riviera.

Vacláv Cerny and Mohammed Diomande scored Rangers’ first two goals, but it was Hamza Igamane that was the start of the night. The Moroccan forward scored a brace and set up another before he was taken off in the 69th minute, with Dessers coming on in his place.

The Nigerian forward had a golden chance to score his side’s fifth goal of the night, but he scuffed his opportunity from just six yards.

Speaking with TNT Sports after the game, Philippe Clement revealed Dessers will need to up his game with increased competition from Igamane.

“Yeah, for sure. There will be competition between them, and it’s about seeing who is in the best shape at one moment

“He (Igamane) came in with an injury, he missed all the preparation, he doesn’t have experience at this level. We’re working hard on him with all staff, physically to make him stronger. He made really big progression in that way, but also tactically doing the right things for the team.

That’s why I gave him the chance today, because I saw the good things the last couple of weeks, better and better in training, and like I said before the game, then it’s my job also to give these chances at this stage, to see what players can bring. He showed what I expected,” the Belgian gaffer said as revealed by The Scotsman.

Clement now has a selection headache on his hands for Sunday’s return to league action when Rangers travel to St Johnstone.

The 29-year-old Nigerian has continued to find the back of the net for The Gers despite the consistent opinion of the fans that he’s simply not good enough.

Last season, Dessers surpassed his personal goal of 20 goal involvements for Rangers across all competitions. In 54 games for Philippe Clement’s side, the Belgium-born Nigerian scored 21 goals and provided nine assists.

He’s hit the ground running this campaign as well, scoring ten and providing three assists in nineteen games across all competitions.

Speaking to Premier Sports after he scored his side’s only goal against Hearts to secure all three points, Dessers revealed his hunger for more goals after hitting double figures.

“It’s a valuable three points, we struggled a little bit in the second half. It’s always difficult after a European away game, on Thursday, late night game, long flight, but we got the three points and that’s the most important thing.

Obviously, it’s always nice to score at Ibrox, just to see the ball in the net, I think it was a good moment for us to score to go ahead and, 10 goals, like you say, it’s a nice number, I’m happy to get there already now, but I want more,” the former Feyenoord man said.

Despite Dessers’ impressive numbers Rangers, his last appearance for the Nigerian national team came in March.