Despite the corona crisis, Cyriel Dessers crowned himself as the joint top scorer of the Eredivisie last season. The fifteen goals earned him a nice transfer to Racing Genk, which the attacker took over from Heracles Almelo for four million euros. Dessers had hoped for a flashy start at his new employer, but things turned out slightly differently in Genk in recent months.

“It has been restless in recent months. With three different trainers (Hannes Wolf, Jess Thorup and John van den Brom, ed.), It is always a matter of adjusting and getting used to”, Dessers sighs in an extensive interview with the Algemeen Dagblad. “I came here to be the first striker, but got injured. Paul Onuachu came in. He’s doing great, all the balls go in for him. Then I have nothing but patience.”

Dessers is therefore regularly on the bench at Racing Genk this season, which became champion in 2019 and played in the Champions League last season. “It’s a top club, the competition is fierce, so I know how it can go. I’m not angry about it”, the former striker of NAC, FC Utrecht and Heracles continues to look optimistically to the future. “I also don’t like to think only about the short term. I have decided that I will keep the peace in my first season and in the second I will take a shot at the title of top scorer.”

Heracles is no longer his employer, but Dessers still follows the club closely. “I don’t think that Heracles is doing well. Last year we only had two points after four duels. They shouldn’t panic, not even the strikers”, he advises. Dessers hopes that Adrian Szöke and his successor Sinan Bakis will soon do better for Heracles. “Ruud van Nistelrooij once said that scoring is like a ketchup bottle: if the first has fallen, the rest will come by itself.” Bakis has scored one goal in eight appearances on behalf of Heracles so far.

For Dessers it is now important to convince Van den Brom of his qualities. The pair have a common history at FC Utrecht, although the collaboration lasted only three weeks. That was just before I went to Heracles, “said Dessers, who has to deal with thirteen internationals in Genk during this international period. Competitor Onuachu, who has been called up for Nigeria, is part of that list.” Last time Paul and I went together, this time I was not called up. I understand that. I hope and assume that I will be there again in the future. Genk has met me with a plan, so I am curious how things will go in the near future. “