Cyriel Dessers: Super Eagles striker finds new home – full details of his new Super Green home revealed

Greek giants Panathinaikos FC have announced the signing of Nigerian striker, Cyriel Dessers, who has joined the Greek giants on a three-year contract. He is the tenth addition to Panathinaikos’ squad for the current season.

Dessers swaps Scotland for Greece after over seasons at Scottish giants Rangers, who he has already penned a farewell message for the Gers.

Panathinaikos confirmed the transfer with a series of posts on their social media, welcoming the Super Eagles to his new Super Green home in Athens.

Born on December 8, 1994, in Tongeren, Belgium, Dessers began his football journey in the youth academies of local Belgian clubs such as Zvalu Vehmaal, Union Rutten, and Tongeren. He later joined the youth ranks of Sint-Truiden and Leuven before making a professional breakthrough.

At age 21, Dessers moved to Lokeren, where he gained valuable experience, featuring not only in the Belgian league but also in the Europa League.

The 2016-17 season saw him transfer to Dutch second-division side Breda, where his prolific form, scoring 22 goals in one season, earned him a move to Eredivisie club Utrecht.

Over two seasons with Utrecht, he played again in the Europa League before moving to Heracles Almelo in 2019, where he finished as the Dutch league's top scorer with 15 goals.

Dessers’ breakthrough continued in 2020 when Belgian champions Genk signed him for 4 million euros. Although he spent just one season at Genk before being loaned to Feyenoord, he made a huge impact there, finishing as the top scorer in the UEFA Conference League with 10 goals, alongside 9 league goals.

Genk brought him back in 2022, but an offer from Italian Serie A side Cremonese followed. Despite his efforts, Cremonese were relegated, and it was then that Scottish Premiership side Rangers swooped in for Dessers in 2023.

His time at Rangers was marked by goal-scoring bursts, netting 22 goals in all competitions during his first season and 29 goals in his second season – earning him the league’s top scorer title. He also won silverware, securing a cup both in Scotland and previously in Belgium.

Internationally, Dessers chose to represent Nigeria, the country of his mother's origin, despite being born in Belgium, where his father hails from. So far, he has earned 8 caps for the Super Eagles, scoring 3 goals.

At Panathinaikos, Dessers will wear the number 33 jersey, and the Greek club warmly welcomes him to the team, hoping his goal-scoring prowess will strengthen their attack for the seasons ahead.