“He’ll outscore him” – Former Burnley midfielder rates Cyriel Dessers above Celtic forward

Soccer

Former Burnley and AFC Bournemouth midfielder, Marvin Clement Bartley, has weighed in on the comparison between Cyriel Dessers and Adam Idah, revealing the Nigerian would score more goals in a Celtic jersey, Soccernet.ng reports.

Both strikers are of Nigerian descent, born in Europe. While Dessers chose to play for the Super Eagles of Nigeria, Adam Idah opted to play for the Republic of Ireland.

Idah has scored 18 goals and provided one assist in 50 games across all club competitions, while Dessers has scored 25 goals and provided seven assists in 52 games for Rangers this term.

Cyriel Dessers celebrates after scoring a 91st-minute winner against Dundee. [Photo Credit/ TSS].

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UK: Rangers v Celtic, Scottish Premiership at Ibrox Stadium, Glasgow, Scotland on 04 May 2025: Pictured: Adam Idah Celtic celebrates his goal with his team-mates. [Photo Credit/ Imago].

Bartley, who played in the Scottish League during the final days of his career, revealed Idah has done excellent work at Celtic, but Dessers would have scored more goals.

“Yeah, well, [Idah’s goals at] Aston Villa springs to mind, doesn’t it? When he was given that start, he definitely does extremely well in that, and that’s the thing, at times you can see Adam Idah like that, but there have been other games where he’s looked off it for the level that’s probably needed to be a main number nine at Celtic.

“Even the one that he runs through with Liam Kelly, I know he scores later on with a deflection, but for me, I had no confidence that he was going to run through and put that ball in the back of the net.

“I just think Dessers would outscore him and outperform him in that Celtic team. I think that Celtic team is something to be feared,” the 38-year-old told Superscoreboard in quotes revealed by 67 Hail Hail.

Former Hibs player Marvin Bartley on media duties during the Scottish Cup match between Hibernian and Heart of Midlothian at Easter Road Stadium, Edinburgh, Scotland on 22 January 2023. [Photo Credit/ Imago].

There’s nothing left for both sides to play in the SPFL, as Celtic have been crowned league Champions with Rangers barely putting up a fight due to their inconsistency.

Soccer Adefolahan Guerreiro


Adefolahan Guerreiro

Adefolahan is a multilingual journalist and writer at Soccernet Nigeria.

With a track record of involvement in College sports, Adefolahan is focused on crafting engaging football content and utilising his language skills and extensive sports knowledge to enhance content accessibility for a global audience.

He has interviewed Nigerian stars like Finidi George, Junior Lokosa, and Abraham Onahi Ogbu.

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