Super Eagles striker shares first impression on Eric Chelle's fresh call up

Former Rangers forward Cyriel Dessers recently opened up about his first impressions of international teammate Emmanuel Fernandez, praising the centre-back's mentality in overcoming a challenging start to life at Ibrox.

Dessers, who played for The Gers for two years before his exit in 2025, played briefly with Fernandez. In a recent interview with Rangers Review, he noted that they had to help the well-built defender settle in.

 Acknowledging that adjusting to the expectations in Glasgow can be incredibly daunting, Dessers revealed that the squad had to help him acclimatise.

“He had a difficult start, but now he's showing his quality. Like I said, we all saw it from the first day he walked into the club,” Dessers said.

“For sure, but we also had to tell him that things at Rangers don't always come easy even if you're a good player. Now, you can see he took that, made incredible progress, and now he's a Nigeria International as well, and that's nice to see.

“In terms of quality, there's a good base in the current Rangers squad. We could all see his quality when he started training with us.”

Shaking off initial jitters, Fernandez has made remarkable progress to firmly cement himself as an integral, commanding presence in the Rangers' backline.

Fernandez's meteoric rise since arriving from Peterborough United in the summer of 2025 for a reported £3.5 million fee has been nothing short of spectacular. 

The 24-year-old has defied his early-season struggles to deliver a phenomenal debut campaign, culminating in him being named the Rangers Men's Player of the Year for the 2025/26 season and securing the sole Rangers spot in the PFA Scotland Premiership Team of the Year. 

His impact extended far beyond defensive solidity, as he remarkably contributed six goals in 28 appearances across all competitions. 

His form captured the attention of the national team setup, earning Fernandez a maiden Super Eagles call-up where he debuted in a 2-1 friendly victory over Iran, before scoring his first international goal on his first start during a 2-2 draw with Jordan.