Ex-Super Eagles coach Gernot Rohr says he could not hand Dessers more opportunities while he was Nigeria's coach because the Feyenoord striker was not playing regularly.
Rohr handed Dessers his Super Eagles debut
The 27-year-old made his Super Eagles bow under Rohr in an international friendly encounter against Tunisia back in 2020.
Dessers' debut came on the back of a remarkable season with Heracles in the Dutch Eredivisie, finishing as the joint-top scorer with 15 goals.
However, following his debut, the ex-Utrecht man did not play another game for the Super Eagles under Rohr. Dessers moved from Heracles to Genk after his excellent season, but the move turned out to be a nightmare as he was overshadowed by another Nigerian, Paul Onuachu.
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Rohr has now revealed that Dessers' lack of game time at Genk was why he never got another opportunity.
"Disciplined, he made a very good impression with Nigeria," Rohr told L'Équipe via girondins33.
"But we didn't call him back because he was no longer playing for a club," he added.
Rohr and Dessers remain in contact
Although Rohr never gave him another opportunity, the former Burkina Faso coach revealed that he remains on speaking terms with Dessers. The 68-year-old revealed Dessers sought him for advice when he wanted to leave Genk on loan last season, with Bordeaux interested.
Rohr, who led Bordeaux to the 1996 UEFA Cup final, praised Dessers' ability as a striker even though he snubbed Bordeaux for Feyenoord.
"He's a breakthrough striker, very mobile and very fast, who has a good heading game and a good strike with both feet," Rohr concluded.
Dessers- A man in form
Dessers move to Feyenoord has paid off. The 27-year-old is currently Nigeria's most in-form striker in Europe, having scored 16 goals this season, including ten in the UEFA Europa Conference League.
He will hope to end the season on a high when Feyenoord take on Jose Mourinho's AS Roma in the UECL final on May 25.