CELTIC have made a bold call flogging Kyogo Furuhashi midway through the season.
Rangers should think carefully before they do the same with Cyriel Dessers.
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The big striker divides opinion like few other players in the Ibrox club’s history.
And his unbelievable goal against Manchester United will only add to the debate.
Make no mistake, it was a top-class touch and finish from the forward at Old Trafford.
Yet there will still be punters out there who want to talk about the chance he missed earlier after being played in by Bailey Rice — albeit he looked offside.
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It was the same in the Scottish Cup against Fraserburgh last weekend.
Dessers scored a hat-trick but his first-half sitter gets more focus.
Listen, every striker misses chances but I genuinely struggle to remember anyone getting criticised for it the way he does.
This all feeds into the view of some Rangers supporters that they should take what they can get for him this month.
I don’t agree with that at all. If Philippe Clement wants success between now and the end of May, he should fight to keep him.
The Nigerian international turns up for his work every single day, he’s always available and he scores goals — 17 of them so far this season.
Do not underestimate how important that is for this squad.
Celtic have taken a gamble by selling Kyogo, even if Brendan Rodgers is adamant a top replacement will come in.
Time will tell whether the Parkhead boss makes the right decision on that signing after some questionable summer outlays.
Rangers need to be careful, though. With Danilo injured again, Clement only has Hamza Igamane and Dessers as first-team strikers.
The Moroccan has massive potential and has emerged as an important player for Clement in recent months.
Igamane has a lovely touch, he links the play and he uses the ball well.
But he is young and still has so much to learn. For me, he also needs to offer more when he’s inside the box.
That’s me speaking as a former No 9 who knows what it’s like to play in an Old Firm team that creates a lot of chances.
Igamane is capable of becoming an all-round striker. We saw that with his perfect hat-trick against Hibs recently — but he likes to drift a bit and that takes him away from the goal.
Dessers has been coming off the bench recently but he still continues to find the net.
He’s well on his way to surpassing last season’s tally of 22.
There will be interest in Dessers. We’ve already seen half-a-dozen struggling Italian clubs linked with him.
There’s no doubt this leaves Rangers with a conundrum as getting a few quid in for him would probably appeal.
But the notion of selling Dessers without bringing in a replacement would be madness.
Rangers are 13 points behind Celtic in the league but they will progress in the Europa League and they’ll have the Scottish Cup to attack.
Clement was clear last week when he said that Dessers should only be sold if someone of “the same quality” comes in.
But I would be stunned if Rangers found a player who can match Dessers’ goal return for the second half of the season.
That ain’t happening unless they pay a lot of money, something Patrick Stewart has already said won’t happen.
Danilo’s injury means even more is being asked of Igamane and the Moroccan must be due a break soon under the Ibrox sports science rules.
Or is that stuff all out the window now?
But when you see Vaclav Cerny limp off at Old Trafford, after having been rested in the Cup, Rangers’ attacking options are already stretched.
Dessers can play an important role between now and the end of the season, especially when Rangers are starting to blood more kids.
I’ve had my say this season on Clement’s dubious claims about him having a young team — but against United it certainly was. Seeing Rice and Findlay Curtis being thrown into such a big game was refreshing and I hope that trend continues over the next few months.
Yet Clement will also need old heads around them, especially in tough away tests like Tannadice, and Dessers can help, especially as his physicality might be needed.
But no matter how young the team is against Dundee United, Rangers need to find a way to win these games.
As for Kyogo’s Celtic exit, I need to give credit to my SunSport colleagues for leading the way on this one.
There are some experts out there who scoffed at the idea that the Japanese striker would move on in this window.
But as I said in this column last week, “Something is afoot and it points to a deal being done soon”.
And guess what? A week on, he’s packed his bags for France as Rodgers revealed Kyogo told him he wanted to quit months ago.
He will be remembered as a big-game player and someone who, more often than not, turned up in Old Firm derbies.
But it’s what happens next that Celtic fans should really focus on.
Bringing Jota back for £9million is a clever move by Rodgers because he knows exactly what he’s getting.
Yet I wonder if he will be given the same kind of cash to get a direct replacement for Kyogo, maybe for Brondby’s Mathias Kvistgaarden.
Let’s face it, was the £26m he spent on Adam Idah, Arne Engels and Auston Trusty this summer really value for money?
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I’d argue that the £5m for Luke McCowan and Paulo Bernardo was better business. Top of the list was Kasper Schmeichel for nothing.
Rodgers is under pressure to get it right on Kyogo’s replacement, otherwise the bold move in selling him will just look foolish.
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