By John Essien
The debut edition of the Europa Conference League has seen plenty of goals scored, with two players, both in the final, already in the hunt for the tournament’s golden shoe.
With the Arena Kombëtare, Tirana, set to host the final on Wednesday, Feyenoord will rely on their hit-man Cyriel Dessers, who has 10 goals in 12 games to lead them to the trophy, while AS Roma will equally look up to their towering striker Tammy Abraham for a place in history.
Abraham has 9 goals in 12 ECL matches, and under the guidance of Jose Mourinho, he’s fancied to wrap up the season for the Giallorossi on a high.
Dessers linked up with Feyenoord from Belgian Pro League outfit KRC Genk on a season-long deal last summer.
The Nigerian has been a revelation at De Kuip in the competition and could be closing in on a permanent move to the Dutch club.
The 27-year-old has registered 16 goals in 36 appearances across all competitions for Arne Slot’s side.
With Feyenoord struggling to cough out Genk’s modest €4m asking price, a section of the club’s supporters have taken matters into their own hands and have already crowd-funded over €50,000 to help the Pride of the South seal the deal for their new hero at De Kuip.
A Dutch businessman and multimillionaire Dennis de Roo has even expressed the willingness to partner Feyenoord in providing the money for the deal in response to an encouraging statement credited to club manager Arne Slot.
But FIFA’s latest decision is expected to pour cold waters on Feyenoord’s unconventional sourcing means for Dessers’ transfer fee.
