Former Rangers striker sees potential in man he passed the baton to as he wishes 'complete' marksman the best
The Ibrox anomaly now plays in the Greek Super League with Panathinaikos
Rangers striker Youssef Chermiti has received praise from former forward Cyriel Dessers - who believes the ‘potential’ is there for him to be an Ibrox success.
The Panathinaikos star left Govan for Athens in the summer after recording some impressive number during his Rangers spell. Dessers scored 52 goals in 116 games for the Light Blues after signing from Cremonese in 2023. The club sold the Nigerian to the Greek side for £3.5m, where he currently plays under Champions League-winning boss Rafa Benitez.
Dessers’ fee helped Rangers sign Chermiti from Everton for around £10 million - making him the second most expensive player in their history after Tore Andre Flo. The hefty price tag of the Portugal under-21 international raised a few eyebrows at the time, given he only had three professional goals in his career before the switch. After a shaky start, Chermiti has started to find his feet over the past few months and now has 12 league goals to his name. He also boasts the best ‘minutes per goal’ ratio in the division.
Dessers lauds his number nine successor
The 21-year old has scored some spectacular goals for Rangers, namely his overhead kick at Ibrox against Celtic in March’s 2-2 stalemate which recently won the Goal of the Season award. He also become known as a big game player, with the majority of his goals this campaign coming against title rivals Hearts and Celtic. Dessers, who scored a few worldies for Rangers himself during his two-year spell is excited to see what the future holds for the youngster.
He told Rangers Review: "I think [Youssef] is very complete. He has the size, he has the speed for his size. He can drop into those pockets. He scored some beautiful goals in big moments. Of course, that's very important for being a striker at Rangers; sometimes you need your striker to do something magical. I remember his bicycle kick in the Old Firm, thinking 'Wow, this guy really has something for sure'.
“Everybody can see the potential. You saw him improve during the season after a difficult start. The qualities are there, and I hope he can stay at least one more season at Rangers and improves even more. If that happens, you have a very, very big weapon to win that league."
Dessers and Chermiti similarities
While Chermiti seems to thrive on the big occasion, he also has missed some huge chances throughout the season, something he’ll hope to eradicate from his game in the future. In Rangers’ recent 3-2 defeat at Ibrox to Motherwell, the striker had half of the goal to aim at to put the hosts in the lead but struck the ball against goalkeeper Callum Ward.
In this area, he’s almost a carbon copy of Dessers, whose Ibrox career was summed up in one match at Dens Park in May 2025, when he had 11 failed shots on goal inside the box before scoring the decisive goal in a 4-3 victory. However, similar to Chermiti, the 29-year old also had a taste for the spectacular, whether it be his memorable touch and finish goal against Manchester United at Old Trafford or his iconic nutmeg of the goalkeeper against Real Betis.
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