Cyriel Kolawole Dessers (born 8 December 1994) is a professional footballer who plays as a forward for Serie A club Cremonese. Born in Belgium, he plays for the Nigeria national team.
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![]() Dessers with Utrecht in 2017 | |||
Personal information | |||
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Full name | Cyriel Kolawole Dessers | ||
Date of birth | (1994-12-08) 8 December 1994 (age 27) | ||
Place of birth | Tongeren, Belgium | ||
Height | 1.85 m (6 ft 1 in) | ||
Position(s) | Forward | ||
Club information | |||
Current team | Cremonese | ||
Number | 90 | ||
Youth career | |||
0000–2013 | OH Leuven | ||
Senior career* | |||
Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
2013–2014 | OH Leuven | 1 | (0) |
2014–2016 | Lokeren | 32 | (4) |
2016–2017 | NAC Breda | 36 | (22) |
2017–2019 | FC Utrecht | 40 | (12) |
2019–2020 | Heracles Almelo | 26 | (15) |
2020–2022 | Genk | 38 | (10) |
2021–2022 | → Feyenoord (loan) | 27 | (9) |
2022– | Cremonese | 10 | (2) |
National team‡ | |||
2020– | Nigeria | 3 | (1) |
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 14:58, 16 October 2022 (UTC) ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 2 June 2022 |
During the 2013–14 season, 19-year-old Dessers stood out in the reserves and youth competitions for OH Leuven, scoring over 20 goals.[citation needed] With OHL in danger of relegation and several first team strikers either out of shape, injured or suspended, he was given his first minutes in the first team in a 3–2 away loss against Mons.[1]
In April 2014, Dessers signed a two-year deal with Lokeren.[2]
In July 2016, he signed with NAC Breda on a contract until summer 2019, of Dutch second-tier Eerste divisie.[citation needed] On 28 May 2017, they were promoted to the Eredivisie, after a 1–4 victory over NEC, in which Dessers scored three goals.[citation needed] He finished the season with 29 goals in 40 matches.[citation needed]
In July 2017, Dessers moved to FC Utrecht, agreeing a contract for three years with an option for an additional year.[3] On 11 August 2017, he scored the first goal in the competition.[citation needed]
After the 2019–20 Eredivisie season was abandoned, Dessers was jointly awarded the top goalscorer award alongside Steven Berghuis with 15 goals each.[citation needed]
On 30 June 2020, Dessers moved to Genk on a four-year deal.[4]
On 31 August 2021, Dessers returned to the Netherlands to join Feyenoord on loan with an option to buy.[5] He scored his first goal for the club on 19 September, scoring Feyenoord's fourth goal in a 4–0 away win against PSV.[6] On 1 June 2022, Feyenoord announced that they had opted not to exercise the option to purchase Dressers' contract.[7]
On 10 August 2022, Dessers signed with Cremonese in Italy.[8]
Born in Belgium to a Belgian father and Nigerian mother, Dessers chose to represent Nigeria at international level in December 2019.[9]
On 4 March 2020, he was called up by Nigeria head coach Gernot Rohr as part of the team players invited for the Africa Cup of Nations qualifying fixtures against Sierra Leone.[10] Dessers debuted in a friendly 1–1 draw with Tunisia on 13 October 2020.[11]
Club | Season | League | National cup | Continental | Other | Total | ||||||
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Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
OH Leuven | 2013–14 | Belgian Pro League | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 1[lower-alpha 1] | 0 | 2 | 0 | |
Lokeren | 2014–15 | Belgian Pro League | 21 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 3[lower-alpha 2] | 0 | 2[lower-alpha 3] | 0 | 29 | 7 |
2015–16 | 11 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 11 | 0 | ||||
Total | 32 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 40 | 7 | ||
NAC Breda | 2016–17 | Eerste Divisie | 36 | 22 | 0 | 0 | — | 4[lower-alpha 4] | 7 | 40 | 29 | |
Utrecht | 2017–18 | Eredivisie | 29 | 9 | 2 | 2 | 5[lower-alpha 2] | 1 | 3[lower-alpha 5] | 0 | 39 | 12 |
2018–19 | 11 | 3 | 2 | 2 | — | 4[lower-alpha 5] | 2 | 17 | 7 | |||
Total | 40 | 12 | 4 | 4 | 5 | 1 | 7 | 2 | 56 | 19 | ||
Heracles Almelo | 2019–20 | Eredivisie | 26 | 15 | 3 | 3 | — | — | 29 | 18 | ||
Genk | 2020–21 | Belgian First Division A | 32 | 7 | 2 | 0 | — | — | 34 | 7 | ||
2021–22 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2[lower-alpha 6] | 1 | 1[lower-alpha 7] | 0 | 6 | 1 | ||
2022–23 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 3 | 3 | ||||
Total | 38 | 10 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 43 | 11 | ||
Feyenoord (loan) | 2021–22 | Eredivisie | 27 | 9 | 1 | 1 | 13[lower-alpha 8] | 10 | — | 41 | 20 | |
Cremonese | 2022–23 | Serie A | 10 | 2 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 10 | 2 | ||
Career total | 210 | 74 | 13 | 11 | 24 | 12 | 15 | 9 | 262 | 106 |
No. | Date | Venue | Cap | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
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1 | 28 May 2022 | AT&T Stadium, Arlington, United States | 2 | ![]() | 1–1 | 1–2 | Friendly |
Genk
Feyenoord
Individual
U.S. Cremonese – current squad | |
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UEFA Europa Conference League top scorers | |
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