Cyriel Dessers Seen as Dries Mertens’ Successor by Dutch Publication
Voetbalzone, the Dutch sports publication, has recently drawn a comparison between Nigerian youngster Cyriel Dessers and long-time Napoli player, Dries Mertens.
Cyriel Dessers’ career currently is following a similar trajectory to that of Dries Mertens. The Belgium international playing for PSV Eindhoven, in the Eredivisie, the same team to which Cyriel Dessers is signed.
It’s been a very good season for Dressers. The Belgian-born Nigerian player has scored 4 goals in 7 appearances for Feyenoord Rotterdam, the team to which he was loaned for the remainder of the season.
Mertens has become something of an impact sub for Napoli recently. The player has faced numerous injury issues last season and is slowly returning to regular fitness. Similarly, Dessers has been used as an impact sub in recent weeks, even scoring in the final minutes of Feyernoord’s last match against AZ Alkmaar.
Writing for Voetbalzone, Peter Vandenbempt talked about the similarities between Dessers and Mertens.
“Mertens was a good substitute, while others had more trouble with that. Mertens always said that he can also start a match well, something he eventually evolved into. It remains to be seen how that will work with Dessers. In any case, I wholeheartedly wish him well, after everything he went through last year.“
Could Cyriel Dessers become a future solution for Napoli? While no discussions have been made between the Italian side and the player’s current employer, it is clear that Napoli will struggle to find a suitable replacement to Dries Mertens, now 34 years old, one of the club’s most emblematic players.