Cyriel Dessers: What does the future hold?

A spell away from parent club Genk meant the frontman had the chance to revive his falling stock with Feyenoord.

He did that to an extent, especially in Europe where he scored a plethora of goals as the Dutch side reached the final of the maiden Europa Conference League season.

While the Eredivisie outfit did not make the move permanent, Dessers showed he can thrive in continental football which ought to make him a wanted quantity back in Belgium or elsewhere.

Knowing full well he was behind Nigeria teammate Paul Onuachu at Genk, Dessers returned to the Eredivisie, with Feyenoord giving him a home for the 2021/22 campaign.

However, he largely remained a rotational option in league games, starting only nine times from 27 appearances altogether.

This did not stop the 27-year-old from a decent return in the top-flight, finding the back of the net nine times, averaging a goal every 120 minutes, and setting up two goals.

Having said that, the marksman was often trusted to lead the line in Europe and rewarded Arne Slot’s faith with a 10-goal return in only seven starts (13 appearances in total).

This saw him outscore the competition as Feyenoord reached the final but lost to Roma in Tirana.

It has gone somewhat quiet with the Dutch side perhaps strangely not retaining his services for the upcoming season.

Be that as it may, some reports in the Netherlands have linked the Nigeria international with a move to Serie A side Fiorentina.

The Viola sold former forward Dusan Vlahovic to Juventus in January and could look to the Super Eagle to replace the Serbia superstar this summer.

That the forward plays consistently for the season after a couple of indifferent seasons at Genk and Feyenoord, Conference League aside.

Dessers has had a combined 14 league starts in the last two seasons and a player of his goalscoring quality will feel he deserves consistent match action.

The former Heracles marksman guarantees goals when he’s trusted, so ample minutes on the pitch with Genk or elsewhere will do a world of good in the forthcoming season and make him a contender for an Africa Cup of Nations berth with Nigeria.

Having forced his way into the Super Eagles’ reckoning in the off-season friendly games with Mexico and Ecuador, a lack of game time will make him a peripheral figure once again with the Super Eagles.

The absence of games saw Dessers fall off the national team radar for a bit leading to his Africa Cup of Nations exclusion in January.

With the competition for places in Nigeria’s attack rather intense, the striker risks slipping out of contention if minutes are at a premium.

Unless Onuachu departs Genk, Dessers is likely to remain a peripheral figure at the Smurfs, potentially harming his Afcon chances next year.

Thus, we predict a move away for the 27-year-old who is likely to score enough goals to keep him in the Nigeria squad for next year’s finals in Ivory Coast.

The transfer to Fiorentina may or may not pan out, but GOAL reckons the forward has done enough in the last European season to get the desired transfer to a competitive European league in 22/23.