Nigerian forward Cyriel Dessers has been acquired by Cremonese from Belgian club Genk for an undisclosed sum. The 27-year-old was sought after by a number of teams, including the freshly promoted Italian Serie A team.
Dessers led all scorers in the inaugural Europa Conference League last year with 10 goals for Feyenoord, which finished in second place.
“I feel like a child unwrapping his Christmas gift by joining one of the most illustrious leagues in the world,” Dessers said.
Dessers, a Nigerian-born football player who was born in Belgium, spent the 2017–18 season on loan at Feyenoord from Genk.
He joined Genk in 2020 from Dutch club Heracles, where his 15 league goals saw him finish as the Eredivisie’s joint-top scorer in the 2019–20 season, and he scored 11 times in 43 games.
Prior to joining top-flight Utrecht, Dessers scored 19 goals in 56 appearances while playing for NAC Breda in the second division in 2016–17.
At Feyenoord, Dessers had his most prolific season, making 41 appearances while tallying 20 goals and four assists.
“It is going to be a difficult challenge full of obstacles, but I am ready to defend the colours of Cremonese,” Dessers added.
“I’m looking forward to living a childhood dream in a new environment and doing all I can to help the team in the battles ahead.”
The length of his contract has not been announced by Cremonese, who are playing in Serie A for the first time since 1995–1996.
Dessers, who has three caps for Nigeria and one goal for his country, was born in Leuven to a Belgian father and is eligible for Nigeria through his mother.