Glasgow Rangers ended their 2023/24 campaign in disappointing fashion last month as they were beaten in the final of the SFA Cup at Hampden Park.
A 90th-minute goal from Adam Idah won the tournament for their Glasgow rivals and that capped off a poor month for Philippe Clement and his team, as they had already watched Celtic lift the Scottish Premiership title.
Head of recruitment Nils Koppen and the Belgian head coach have reacted to that disappointment by making some early moves ahead of the summer transfer window officially opening for business on Friday.
Oscar Cortes has been brought in for a second loan spell from Lens, with an obligation to make the deal permanent next summer, left-back Jefte has joined from Brazilian side Fluminense, and centre-back Clinton Nsiala will officially join the club at the start of next month when his contract with AC Milan comes to an end.
The Gers are also reportedly in pole position to land Germany U20 international Yusuf Kabadayi from Bayern Munich on a permanent deal, to bolster their options on the flank.
They do not seem to be satisfied with that, though, as the Scottish giants are also said to be in the running to add a new number nine to their squad.
Rangers' interest in Euro 2024 centre-forward
According to the Daily Record, the Light Blues are one of the teams lining up a potential swoop to sign Bristol City centre-forward Tommy Conway.
The report claims that Koppen is plotting an offer to sign the Scotland international, who is in the squad for Euro 2024 and could feature against Germany on Friday, to bolster Clement's attacking options.
It states that Scottish rivals Celtic are also keen on the 21-year-old marksman and could also swoop in to sign him for a compensation fee of £300k next year.
The outlet reveals that he has one year left to run on his contract at Ashton Gate and both Premiership sides would be able to sign him on a pre-contract agreement from next January onwards, and would only have to pay £300k if he runs his deal down.
Conway has been in talks over an extension with the English Championship side but the Daily Record claims that those discussions have not had a positive conclusion for the club.
Meanwhile, the Bristol Post reports that the Robins are now open to offers to cash in on the striker in the current transfer window, amid interest from Rangers, Celtic, and Wolverhampton Wanderers.
This suggests that the door is open for the Light Blues to snap the young striker up ahead of the 2024/25 campaign, instead of having to wait until next year to bring him to Ibrox.
These updates on the club's interest in a deal to sign the Scotland international should come as bad news to Cyriel Dessers, as it could impact his game time in Glasgow.
Cyriel Dessers' debut season at Rangers in numbers
The Nigerian forward joined the Scottish giants on a permanent deal from Cremonese last summer after the Italian club were relegated from the Serie A.
Michael Beale brought him to Ibrox and the Belgian-born marksman ended the 2023/24 campaign with a return of 22 goals and nine assists in 54 appearances in all competitions.
More than 20 goals in a debut year in the country seems like a fantastic season on paper for the experienced attacker but it becomes less impressive when you dig deeper into his performances and how he achieved that tally.
Firstly, no Rangers player underperformed their xG (Expected Goals) by more than Dessers. He scored 16 Premiership goals from 21.72 xG – an outperformance of 5.72 goals.
Appearances
35
Goals
16
Big chances missed
27
Ground duel success rate
29%
Aerial duel success rate
40%
As you can see in the table above, the 29-year-old dud missed a staggering 27 'big chances' – 18 more than anyone else in the squad – on his way to 16 league goals.
These statistics show that the striker, who was also dominated by opposition defenders in physical duels, was incredibly wasteful in front of goal and let his teammates down on a regular basis by not making the most of the high-quality opportunities that were created for him.
Why the Tommy Conway interest is bad news for Cyriel Dessers
The club's reported interest in Conway is bad news for the former Serie A marksman as the 21-year-old ace's form for Bristol City suggests that he could come in as an upgrade on the Gers dud.
His finishing ability in the Championship for the Robins indicates that the potential is there for him to be far more ruthless than Dessers in front of goal, which could then see him dropped to the bench or from the squad entirely.
The Scotland international, who Gers supporters may now keep a close eye on during the European Championships this summer, completed 85% of his passes in the second tier and won 45% of his ground duels.
Whereas, Dessers completed 71% of his attempted passes in the Premiership and won just 29% of his battles on the deck, which suggests that the Bristol City star could come in and offer more in and out of possession outside of the final third.
Appearances
39
xG
9.25
Goals
10
xG differential
+0.75
Conversion rate
19%
As you can see in the table above, Conway also caught the eye with his efficient finishing as he scored ten goals from 9.25 xG, an overperformance of 0.75.
This suggests that the Scottish talent has the quality in front of goal to make the most of the chances that are created for him, which was not the case for Dessers this season as he significantly underperformed against his expected tally.
He could, in theory, score more than 16 that the ex-Cremonese number nine did for the Gers if the team can provide him with the high-quality chances that they created for the current Light Blues striker, due to the finishing quality Conway displayed in England.
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Therefore, Rangers being interested in the 6 foot 1 striker, who was once dubbed an "absolute hero" for Bristol City by talent scout Jacek Kulig, is bad news for the Nigeria international as it could spell the end of his time as the first-choice striker at Ibrox.
The statistics indicate that he could be an upgrade on Dessers if Clement and Koppen can sign the youngster ahead of Celtic and Wolves, which is why this could be a shrewd piece of business by the club – whether it happens this summer or next year for £300k.