AEK Athens’ ambitious move for Nigerian striker, Cyriel Dessers is hanging in the balance as Rangers continue to stall on approving the forward’s departure, despite the Greek side preparing to raise their offer to beat competition from Feyenoord.
Dessers remains a key summer target for AEK, who earlier tabled a £4.5m bid for the former Genk and Cremonese striker.
However, according to Record Sport, the deal is on hold as Rangers refuse to greenlight his exit without first signing a replacement.
The Scottish Premiership side are currently juggling multiple negotiations, including a proposed £5m deal for Maccabi Tel Aviv forward Dor Turgeman, but are said to be prioritising offloading either Dessers or Hamza Igamane before proceeding.
Voira reports in Greece that AEK are not backing down from their interest in Dessers and are preparing a renewed effort to sign the striker.
“AEK are finalising the signing of Felipe Relvas, the Portuguese centre-back from Vitória Guimarães, while the club also continues to apply pressure in their pursuit of Cyriel Dessers,” The Greek outlet wrote.
“They remain on standby regarding the situation with Cyriel Dessers. Rangers are open to selling the Nigerian striker but are unlikely to sanction his departure without first securing a replacement.”
Meanwhile, Sportime reports that the situation has become increasingly uncertain for AEK, who have already suffered a setback in their bid to sign David Jurasek from Benfica.
The Czech left-back, who was expected to join the Greek side on loan, opted instead to move to Turkish club Besiktas on identical terms.
That twist has now cast a shadow over Dessers’ deal, with Sportime writing, “Just when it seemed everything was progressing well with AEK’s summer transfers, the first setback has occurred with David Jurasek, and it now appears the pursuit of Cyriel Dessers may also be in jeopardy.”
The outlet added that the Nigerian’s transfer is “more likely to collapse than succeed”, though AEK’s sporting director Ribalda is reportedly exploring alternative options in the market, particularly at left-back.
Dessers, who finished last season’s Premiership as top scorer with 18 goals, has also attracted interest from Feyenoord, where he previously enjoyed a successful loan spell.
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