Fumbled by Beale: Rangers could’ve binned Dessers with “standout” gem who left in 2023

Former Glasgow Rangers head coach Michael Beale decided to overhaul his squad at Ibrox last summer by allowing a number of players to leave to make way for new signings.

The likes of Glen Kamara, Scott Arfield, Antonio Colak, Ryan Kent, Allan McGregor, and Alfredo Morelos all departed the Scottish giants ahead of the 2023/24 campaign, either on free transfers or for fees.

This allowed the Gers to swoop in to sign Leon Balogun, Sam Lammers, Jack Butland, Dujon Sterling, Danilo, Cyriel Dessers, Kieran Dowell, and Jose Cifuentes on permanent deals, along with Abdallah Sima on a season-long loan from Brighton & Hove Albion.

Beale had mixed success with those additions and was relieved of his duties at the start of October, before being replaced by Belgian coach Philippe Clement.

Dessers, in particular, has had his struggles at Ibrox this season as the centre-forward has scored goals without being overly convincing on the pitch for the Light Blues.

The experienced striker has, unfortunately, been the club’s only recognised number nine option for large portions of the season, due to injuries to Kemar Roofe and Danilo, and Clement could have binned the Nigerian forward if he had Robbie Ure available.

Why Robbie Ure left Rangers

His contract with Rangers expired at the end of the 2022/23 campaign and the forward decided to let it run out before securing a move to Anderlecht in Belgium.

After he made the move to the Pro League, Ure admitted that playing senior football and having a clear pathway to the first-team if he does well was a key factor in his decision.

In February 2023, Football Insider reported that the Light Blues offered the 18-year-old centre-forward a contract extension on less money than the deal he was on at the time.

The outlet claimed that the B team star also turned down a contract offer from the Scottish giants during the January transfer window, when the fee the club wanted for his services put off any prospective buyers.

They added that the Scottish forward wanted to ‘quit’ after being offered less money to stay beyond the summer of 2023, which led to his eventual move to Belgium.

This suggests that Rangers did not do all they could have done to convince the impressive young marksman to remain at Ibrox, as they wanted him to take a pay-cut to stay.

Instead, if the funds were available, Beale could have attempted to pin him down to a long-term contract on higher wages to ensure his future in Glasgow, given that his exceptional goalscoring record at youth level suggested that Ure had big potential to be a success.

Robbie Ure’s goalscoring record

The Scotland U19 international came up through the youth ranks at Ibrox and produced two goals in four UEFA Youth League appearances during the 2021/22 campaign, in his breakthrough at Youth League level.

He followed that up with a sensational 2022/23 season as the impressive centre-forward caught the eye with his B team performances and earned a first-team debut.

His senior bow came against Queen of the South in August 2022 as Giovanni van Bronckhorst named him as the starting number nine in the League Cup clash. Ure scored in a 3-1 round of 16 win for the Light Blues, which suggested that the forward was ready to step up and receive more first-team opportunities.

Unfortunately, the Dutch head coach was replaced by Beale towards the end of November, after van Bronckhorst had also provided Ure with a Scottish Premiership debut against St. Mirren, and the English coach handed him one minute of first-team action throughout the rest of the campaign.

His lack of involvement in the first-team under the ex-Liverpool youth manager meant that he racked up 41 appearances for the academy sides, in which time Ure scored 20 goals and provided ten assists.

Since his move to Anderlecht, the 20-year-old ace has played regular senior football in the second division of Belgian football with RSCA Futures (Anderlecht B). He has plundered five goals and two assists in 12 league outings for the club so far.

Overall, the former Gers striker has scored 28 goals and assisted 12 in 62 matches throughout his career, at youth and senior level for Rangers and Anderlecht combined, which is a return of one goal contribution every 1.55 games on average.

This shows that the talented youngster excels at making a big impact in the final third as a striker, by both scoring and creating goals for his team.

Cyriel Dessers’ mixed success for Rangers this season

The 29-year-old striker was brought in from Italian side Cremonese to bolster Beale’s options at the top end of the pitch in the summer of 2023, after Ure had left the club.

Dessers has scored 16 goals and provided seven assists in 43 matches in all competitions for the Gers so far this season, which is a return of a goal or an assist every 1.87 outings on average – less than Ure has managed throughout his career to date.

The Nigeria international’s decent record in front of goal does not tell the full story, however, as 12 of those goals have come from an xG (Expected Goals) of 15.1 in the Premiership.

He has missed a mind-boggling 20 ‘big chances’ in just 19 starts, and 26 appearances in total, in the Scottish top-flight this season, and these statistics show that the forward has been incredibly wasteful.

His physicality has also left a lot to be desired, as the Rangers attacker has lost 69% of his duels in the Premiership, and 74% of his battles across six Europa League outings.

This shows that Dessers has been dominated by opposition players in physical contests, to go along with his wasteful finishing in front of goal for the Scottish giants.

Had Beale not fumbled Ure, who was described as a “standout” by journalist Joshua Barrie, by failing to offer him a suitable contract or more than one minute of first-team action, Clement could have binned Dessers by having a terrific young centre-forward to call upon.

The Scottish whiz, who is now thriving in the second division in Belgium, could have been an excellent option for the manager to bring through into the first-team, given his better record of goals and assists per game than the ex-Serie A striker.

Instead, injuries to Danilo and Roofe have left the 29-year-old dud as the only natural striker for much of the campaign so far, although Fabio Silva can also play there if needed.