Rangers add Chermiti & Cornelius as Dessers is sold

Cyriel Dessers (centre) has exited Ibrox as Derek Cornelius and Youssef Chermiti arrive

Rangers have bought 21-year-old Youssef Chermiti from Everton for an undisclosed fee in the belief "he can develop into a top striker here" as they sold Cyriel Dessers to Panathinaikos.

The Scottish Premiership club have also added 27-year-old Canada centre-half Derek Cornelius on a loan from Marseille with an option to buy at the end of the season and farmed out winger Oscar Cortes to Sporting Gijon in Spain's second tier.

Chermiti has signed a four-year contract at Ibrox.

He came through the youth ranks with Sporting and, after he made 22 appearances, scoring three times, in the 2022-23 season, he was sold to Everton for a reported fee of £11.5m, rising to £14m with add-ons.

But he has since played just 24 times, only two of them starts, for the Premier League club without finding the net.

However, Rangers head coach Russell Martin told his club website "he's a young striker with huge potential".

Charmiti becomes the second striker to have been bought by Rangers in the last four days, with former Aberdeen star Bojan Miovski arriving from Girona.

Meanwhile, Dessers leaves for the Greek Superleague for an undisclosed fee after making 115 appearances, scoring 52 goals.

The 30-year-old Belgium-born Nigeria international signed for Rangers from Serie A club Cremonese in July 2023 on a four-year deal.

However, four of his seven appearances this season under Martin have come from the bench and he has found the net only once.

Cortes was also not in Martin's plans despite the obligation to buy the 21-year-old for a reported £4.5m from Lens being triggered only this summer.

Martin, however, believes that Portugal Under-21 international Chermiti has "a lot of the qualities we were looking for" in a striker.

"At just 21, he already has valuable experience at a high level and we believe this is the right environment for him to continue his development," he said.

"We're excited to work with him over the coming years and help him fulfil that potential here at Rangers."

Rangers sporting director Kevin Thelwell had brought Chermiti to Everton when he had a similar role with the Premier League club.

He had two years of contract still to run but did not feature in manager David Moyes' plans.

Thelwell, though, said: "I know his character well from our time at Everton and I've always been impressed by his attitude, professionalism and hunger to improve.

"We believe he can develop into a top striker here and we're confident that Rangers is the right place for him to take that next step. We're all excited about what he can bring to the club over the coming years."

Chermiti added: "When I spoke with Kevin and Russell, I knew straight away that I wanted to join the club."

Cornelius, capped 35 times for Canada, said Martin and Thelwell were keen to add someone with "leadership qualities" to their defence.

The centre-back was sold by Swedish champions Malmo to Marseille exactly a year ago, signing a four-year contract.

He made 23 appearances, 17 of them starts, for the Ligue 1 runners-up last season and has played two times as a substitute this term.