Greek champions PAOK Salonika and Rangers are negotiating the signing of Cyriel Dessers, a striker; according to sources, the Nigerian international has submitted a transfer request to compel the transfer to happen.
Dessers, 29, moved to Glasgow from Italian team Cremonese in a £4.3 million trade last July, and since then, he has scored 23 goals and provided nine assists.
According to Greek media Nova Sports, PAOK and the Ibrox club are in “advanced talks” as they get ready for Champions League qualifying. Rangers will demand a high price for Dessers, a player who splits opinions among fans, as he has three more years left on his contract.
Striker Martin Braithwaite, a Danish international, is reportedly a target for PAOK, although talks with Dessers are advanced, and the player is happy with the parameters offered financially.
This summer, manager Philippe Clement is eager to add at least one more striker to his team as part of another roster makeover.
After a lengthy layoff, Brazilian forward Danilo is nearing recovery, and a deal to sign Moroccan player Hamza Igamane is becoming closer.
Speculation over a potential move for Scotland striker Lawrence Shankland remains, while Rapid Bucharest’s Kosovan front man Albion Rrahmani has also been discussed.
With the signing of Mohamed Diomande, Jefte, Clinton Nsiala, and Connor Barron, Clement has already made a plethora of signings.
After returning from Euro 2024 with Scotland, Motherwell goalkeeper Liam Kelly is close to signing Rangers, and it’s also been reported that Ibrox is interested in his international colleague Kenny McLean of Norwich City.
With the departure of Kemar Roofe, Ryan Jack, Jon McLaughlin, and Borna Barisic to Trabzonspor in Turkey, Boss Clement has shaved some fat off the pay bill. Sam Lammers, a striker from the Netherlands, is also expected to go after a productive loan with Utrecht in his home country.
Meanwhile, Aberdeen have kicked out Rangers’ opening compensation offer of £525,000 for Barron.
The midfielder last week signed a four-year deal at Ibrox after letting his contract run down at Pittodrie.
Having come through the ranks in the Granite City and turned down the offer of an extension, the Dons are due financial recompense for the part they played in developing the Scotland Under-21 player.
With no fixed formula for calculating the fee to be paid when a player of that age moves between two Scottish clubs, the issue will go to an SPFL tribunal unless both parties resolve it.
Addressing the matter publicly for the first time, Aberdeen chief executive Alan Burrows yesterday insisted his club would do whatever was required to get the fee they believe they are due if Rangers don’t match it.
‘If there isn’t agreement between the two clubs then we are fully prepared to go to a tribunal,’ he said. ‘It is our job to get the best value for any player and we will try and do that with Connor.
‘Ideally, in all walks of life, we would like to avoid situations where you have to go to tribunals but if we have to we will.
‘We are still trying to negotiate it with Rangers but the difficulty is that both parties might have a different view of the valuation.’
