It’s been clear for a while now that Rangers have been on the hunt for a new forward. Beyond Alfredo Morelos, our depth is limited, and it’s been a bit of a problem this year.
One man that we were interested in over the summer was Dominic Solanke. Playing for Liverpool at the time, the Englishman has bags of talent, and a loan deal made a lot of sense. Indeed, we were linked with him again this week, so it’s evident that Gerrard was interested.
However, Solanke has now moved to Bournemouth, and we’ve swapped targets too. Indeed, it seems as though Jermaine Defoe is on his way to Ibrox.
They’re two very different players, and fans will either be in favour of one or the other, but it’s tough to look at Defoe and not see the ideal signing for Rangers.
After all, he’s been there and done it. Whilst Solanke has talent, he’s not proven it yet, whilst Defoe has done it for years. At home and abroad, the Englishman has been a lethal goalscorer, and he’s impressed at every level.
Furthermore, his age means that he won’t be expecting to play every single week. Morelos is our first choice, and it needs to stay like that. But Defoe can come in when we need a goal, or perhaps he can link-up alongside Morelos – he’s done that before in his career – and he can deliver. He’s far less of a wild card.
Let’s not forget, too, that we want to win the title this year. Winning titles with young players is so much more difficult, and we’ve already got a pretty young squad as it is. With Defoe in the side instead of Solanke, we’ll be much better positioned to do just that.
Of course, we still need to get the Defoe deal over the line, but at this point it’s looking like a foregone conclusion – and we can’t wait.
Thoughts?