Scottish giants Rangers Glasgow rejected a bid from Major League Soccer (MLS) side Atalanta United for their forward Cyril Dessers.
Reports suggested the MLS outfit had lodged a £4.6m bid for the Nigerian striker, but that the forward didn’t want to leave Ibrox, and had knocked back the move.
But Rangers coach Philippe Clement confirmed that Rangers themselves hadn’t considered allowing Dessers to leave for the sort of money that was on offer, because they would be unable to replace him for such a sum.
“We talk with the board about if there are bid comes for a player, if we can let him go or not,” Clement said.
“We can only let players go if for that amount you can find better. Or you can find two for example, one in the same position and one in another position. Otherwise you work backwards. That’s not the idea.
“So, clearly for him there hasn’t been a bid that was enough to let him go. And he’s also somebody who loves to stay. He loves to play for Rangers. He loves the shirt and he wants to die for the shirt.
“That’s what he’s showing also in the good moments like today, but also in the difficult moments. He was one of the guys who was fighting hard for the club and for the team.
“So, I think he deserves a lot of praise. The stick he got in the beginning when he came here…maybe it was in moments right that he was not good enough and he knew that he was missing things.
“But what he’s been doing now the last couple of months, not only the last couple of weeks, but also the end of last season, he’s just a really good striker and a really good team player.
“That’s important for the rest of the team also.” he added.
However, Dessers is enjoying his life in Scotland as he has scored five league goals already in six starts after his brace in their 6-0 thumping of Ross County.
