Youssef Chermiti to have Rangers medical as bid for Cyriel Dessers accepted

Everton forward Youssef Chermiti is to undergo a medical with Rangers after the clubs reached agreement on a transfer fee of around £8m.

Chermiti now looks set to complete a move ahead of Monday’s transfer deadline, at the time when striker Cyriel Dessers is poised to leave Ibrox.

Rangers have accepted a bid from Panathinaikos worth £3.5m for Dessers, who has been a divisive figure despite a good goalscoring record at the club.

A deal to land Chermiti has been developing in recent days as the overhaul of head coach Russell Martin’s first team squad has continued. After completing the signing of Bojan Miovski on Saturday, Rangers are now close to securing another attacking threat.

The 21-year-old moved to the English Premier League side in 2023 after making the breakthrough in Portugal and impressing in the top flight after being promoted from Sporting’s B team. Everton reportedly paid around £11m for the striker.

The player, who has played for Portugal at every youth level, has made 24 appearances for the Blues, mostly as a substitute. He is currently behind Beto and Thierno Barry in the pecking order and was not included in the squad for the midweek EFL Cup game against Mansfield.

Everton manager David Moyes said on Friday that the striker may go out on loan, but a permanent deal is now close to being finalised, once medical checks are complete.

Nigeria international Dessers moved to Rangers from Cremonese in 2023. While he split opinion as a player who often missed chances, he scored 52 times and had 17 assists in his 116 games for the club.

Speaking after Sunday’s 0-0 draw with Celtic, Martin said that the proposed move was one that worked for everyone concerned but that Dessers was leaving on good terms and with the gratitude of the staff. The head coach did not reveal anything about the future of other players at the club, including Nico Raskin.

“I think Cyriel has probably played his last game for the club,” Martin told Sky Sports. “He goes with everyone’s best wishes. It’s good business for us, it’s good for him, the stage he’s at in his career.

“I don’t know what’s going to happen in the next 24 hours with the rest of our guys.”