With Cremonese striker Cyriel Dessers heavily linked with a move to Rangers, Derek spoke to Johan Brinkel from the Feyenoord podcast Kein Geloel to get an insight into the striker.

What can the Rangers fans expect should he pitch up at Ibrox?

There's so many stories to tell about Cyriel Dessers. I'll start off with this, last year I was on a transfer deadline show in Holland. Feyenoord had to get another striker in because they only had one striker in their squad. All of a sudden, around four o'clock, the name Cyriel Dessers came up and I thought, 'Oh man! He's going to be rubbish.' The interviewer asked me on the show what I thought about him and I basically said, 'This guy is going to be rubbish. He only had one good season at Heracles but after that he wasn't that good.' And then the presenter of the show said, 'We're going to have a Skype call with him.' I was like, 'Oh, shit!' But he took it very nicely and said, 'I hope I can do well and I hope at the end of the season you can say, Cyriel you did well, I made a mistake,' and he did. He came with low expectations and we had a right to buy him at the end of his loan deal. He started off poorly but then all of a sudden, he scored every time as a substitute. There was one spell where in three consecutive games he scored in the 92nd minute in which two were game winners. I bought a jersey last year with 'DESSERS 92' on the back. After the winter break he became a starter. He repaced Bryan Linssen and just stayed in the first eleven line-up and racked up the goals. He played excellent in the Conference League and he was the top scorer for Feyenoord. After the season everyone hoped he would stay with us but the club didn't get a deal done so he went back to Genk and they sold him to Cremonese. Everyone was frustrated because he did well with us. 

What type of striker is he?

We had him on our podcast and I have to say he's the nicest guy I've ever spoken to. Every question we asked him he gave a nice football style answer. He's a very smart guy and a well-mannered guy but as a football player he's good at a bit of everything but not exceptional. He's a good finisher, he's okay speed-wise, he's okay at heading and he's okay at pressing so he's got a little bit of everything which makes him a complete striker but not good enough to be world-class level. He's a very nice player who always delivers, he doesn't back down from challenges but he doesn't excel at one thing, he does a bit of everything.

Is he a No.9 or can he play different positions?

He's definitely a striker. At Feyenoord, he was only used as a striker. At Heracles and Utrecht he was more or less playing with a strike partner. At Feyenoord we always play 4-3-3 with a left and right winger but he should only be used as a striker, he's not good from the wing. Maybe he could play as a number 10 but I think his best position is as a striker. He's very good at finishing so he should be around the goal.

Did he suffer any injuries at Feyenoord?

I don't think he was injured at Feyenoord. I know he had a little injury spell at Cremonese last season but that was only a couple of games. He was never injured at Heracles and Utrecht as well so he's usually pretty healthy and in good shape.

Is he physically strong?

He is, he's a big guy. He's not that muscular but he's quite strong and he knows how to hold off opponents. He's a smart guy as well, he knows how to get in front of the goal and shake off his defender. He's a proper good-looking striker. My girlfriend hated when Dessers left because she really liked him as he has beautiful eyes. I have no clue about that but she was disgusted as well when she heard that he was leaving.

What would be a fair price for him?

The deal for Feyenoord to buy him was for about three million euros but he had a good season and Genk doubled the price for the Italian side. He's 28 so I think three or four million euros is a reasonable price in this market for a striker who's done well in the Conference League and for someone who racked up a few goals in Italy. In the cup, he scored two goals against Roma and he knows how to take penalties. I don't think he's worth six million euros but I like him. I would love to see him go to Rangers and I will definitely go and visit him. He's the kind of guy that if I texted him that I was in Glasgow, he would get me some tickets and then after the game we'd go out for a meal together, that's the kind of guy he is.