THE ITALIAN WHACK JOB

Dessers ready to show what he's learned playing against Serie A's toughest defenders

- ANDY NEWPORT

IT was a dream come true that turned out to be a nightmare. 

But Cyriel Dessers reckons the harsh lessons learned in Serie A’s school of hard knocks has been the perfect preparation as he looks to make the grade at Rangers.

The Ibrox new boy has joined Michael Beale’s side after a £ 4 .5mi l l ion switch from Cremonese.

The former Utrecht, Genk and Feyenoord hitman’s move to Italy was the fulfilment of a lifelong ambition as he finally fought his way through to one of Europe’s top leagues.

But life in Lombardy didn’t pan out as he’d envisioned, with the 28-year-old’s side locked in a forlorn fight against relegation.

Cremonese’s loss has proved to be Rangers’ gain though with Beale swooping to snatch the Nigeria international on a cut-price deal as the Italians failed to claw back the full £6m they had splashed out for his signature only 12 months earlier.

And Dessers reckons he’s also picked up plenty from his time taking on some of the modern game’s most talented stoppers, which he hopes will now give him the edge on Scotland’s defenders.

He said: “Of course it made me a better player. I’d been dreaming about playing in a top-five league since I was a kid. To finally be there, witness it and be part of it was amazing.

“I learned a lot. When you play against some of the best defenders in the world, you learn how to use your body, to play smarter and faster.

“I have played against Merih Demiral of Atalanta, Alessandro Bastoni at Inter and, of course, Kim Min-jae from Napoli – all great defenders.