There are supersubs, and then there is Cyriel Dessers.
0-0 in the Rotterdam derby between Feyenoord and Sparta. Dessers rises from the bench to slam home a 92nd minute winner. Four days later, the Nigeria international repeated the trick away at Union Berlin in the UEFA Conference League.
Then, later that week, another stoppage-time decider, this time against AZ Alkmaar.
In total, Dessers has scored 11 goals since returning to the Eredivisie on loan from KRC Genk last summer. Five of them came after the 89th minute.
The former Heracles talisman also scored the winner at PEC Zwolle, an equaliser against Groningen and a last-gasp goal in November’s thrilling 2-2 draw with Slavia Prague.
To call Dessers a man for the big occasion would be an understatement. Where would Feyenoord be without him?
Well, they certainly wouldn’t be third in the Eredivisie table, with one foot in the quarter-finals of the inaugural Conference League. That’s for sure.
Unfortunately for Arne Slot’s high-flying side, life without Dessers is something Feyenoord will have to contend with sooner rather than later.
According to Het Laaste Nieuws, the Rotterdam giants want to sign their 27-year-old goal-poacher on a permanent basis in the summer. Whether they can, however, is another matter entirely.
It is understood that Feyenoord are unwilling – or unable – to stump up the £3 million Genk want.
But if Dessers was a man in high-demand last summer, on the back of a difficult season in Belgium, he’s almost certain to have his fair share of offers this time around too.
Centre-forwards with a happy habit of scoring 92nd minute winners don’t grow on trees after all.
Could Nottingham Forest land Cyriel Dessers at last?
“That day was the craziest day of my life. If only there had been cameras. That documentary could have won an Oscar,” Dessers explained recently, reflecting on his dramatic deadline-day switch from Genk to Feyenoord.
“I left for Madrid at 6 in the morning with the idea of signing with Leganes. But at the (airport) gate, we suddenly received a phone call from several clubs.
“Antwerp, Nottingham Forest, and Feyenoord. In the end, Stijn (Francis, his agent) and I got on the plane. During the flight you have no idea for two and a half hours which team you are going to play for the next day.
“At that moment, my fate was in the hands of the clubs. After landing, we sat down on a bench in front of the airport. Finally, Genk reached an agreement with Feyenoord and I signed my contract in the lobby of a hotel in Madrid.”
If Feyenoord cannot afford the £3 million fee, Nottingham Forest must be tempted to make another move for a man who almost redifines what it means to be a ‘supersub’. Especially with Steve Cooper’s promotion-chasers set to lose both Keinan Davis and Lewis Grabban when their contracts expire in the summer.
Forest, should they seal their return to the Promised Land after 20 years away, will need all the goalscorers they can get. Someone capable of turning draws into wins, defeats into draws could be the difference between success and failure.
Someone like Dessers.
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