A busy summer awaits for Rangers.
Now that Russell Martin has officially been unveiled as the new Rangers manager, he has plenty of work to do if his team are going to be ready for the start of Champions League qualifying on 22/23 July, with Panathinaikos, Servette or Brann their potential opponents; the draw takes place next Tuesday.
With pivotal European ties just around the corner, Martin is eager to get his transfer business done early, so could it be all change in the striker department?
Rangers seeking a new striker
According to a report by Scott McDermott and Anthony Evans of the Daily Record, Rangers remain in talks with Maccabi Tel Aviv over the signing of striker Dor Turgeman, who they claim is valued at £4m.
Liav Nachmani of Israel Hayom previously documented that Turgeman has ‘expressed a willingness’ to join the Scottish giants, who have ‘been monitoring him for several months’, although the Israeli champions do not want to let him leave easily.
Born in Ashdod, Turgeman joined the Yellows as a 15 year old, making 109 senior appearances since his senior debut five years ago, scoring 32 goals.
This season, he was the third-highest scorer in Ligat HaAl with 16 goals, also on target four times in the Europa League, netting against Panevėžys and then TSC Bačka Topola twice as Maccabi Tel Aviv made it through qualifying, before also getting on the scoresheet against Real Sociedad in October.
Turgeman has international experience too, a key figure in the Israel side that reached the U21 Euros semi-finals two summers ago, earning eight senior caps to date, scoring against Norway in a World Cup qualifier in Debrecen back in March.
So now, could the 21 year old swap the Israeli Mediterranean coastline for Glasgow’s west end?
How Turgeman compares to Dessers
According to a report by Andrew Newport of the Daily Record, Greek side AEK Athens ‘are willing to spend big’ to sign Cyriel Dessers this summer, adding that the Nigerian striker is valued at £5m.
On top of this, Greek journalist Giannis Chorianopoulos of SporTime claims that the Yellow-Blacks are “in talks” with Rangers, so is now the right time to cash in?
Let’s assess Dessers’ statistics for the club since he arrived from Cremonese for a reported £4.5m two summers ago.
Appearances
109
Minutes
6,845
Goals
51
Assists
16
Big chances missed
58
As the table outlines, Dessers’ scoring record at Rangers has been impressive, on target every 134 minutes on average, but the fact he has missed 58 big chances across the Scottish Premiership and Europa League goes a long way to explaining why Alan Pattullo of the Scotsman describes him as a complex ‘enigma’.
So, would Turgeman be an upgrade? Let’s try and find out.
Appearances
55
44
Minutes
3,423
2,887
Goals
29
20
Minutes per goal
118
144
Assists
7
6
Big chances missed
31
4
Big chances created
4
12
Shots on target (per 90)
1
0.7
Shots on target %
50%
37.5%
Touches per 90
29.1
31.6
Touches in opposition box per 90
5.5
3.1
Average Sofascore Rating
6.81
7.10
As the table outlines, while Dessers did score more goals this season, Turgeman’s underlying statistics are broadly more impressive, missing 27 fewer big chances, creating eight more big chances and registering a greater number of touches per 90.
Writer Kai Watson describes the Israeli international as a strong ball carrier and “lethal inside the box”, while Nene Afadzinu of Football Talent Scout praises his ‘excellent first touch’, hold-up play and close-control, adding that he is capable of being deployed as a team’s ‘focal point’ considering he ‘relishes a duel’ and ‘presses intensely’.
Meantime, Rui Martins of Total Football Analysis outlines how Turgeman’s physical attributes give him a ‘significant competitive advantage’, believing he ‘is ready to be tested at a higher level’.
Thus, if Rangers are able to sell 30 year old Dessers and sign 21-year-old Turgeman for a lower fee, this would appear a no-brainer of an upgrade.
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