“I’d keep him” – Gers star tipped for Ibrox extension

Rangers will have a bit of fine tuning to do in the summer but there will be nothing that isn’t a surprise to Ross Wilson and Steven Gerrard.

We are starting to see players extend their contracts, James Tavernier being the latest, and one man who could be next is Jermain Defoe, with former England team-mate, Gabriel Agbonlahor, believing that he should be offered another year to his Ibrox contract, as reported by Football Insider.

“I’d keep him, 100 per cent.

“He’s that player who’s not going to moan about not starting and can come on and make an impact.

“He showed from the weekend that he can still score goals.

“He’s definitely a player I’d keep.

“I’m sure Steven Gerrard might, at the end of the season, take up another year on him and keep him around.

“You need those squad players that aren’t going to moan about not playing.”

Defoe has 30 goals and 10 assists in 67 appearances, with most of these coming off the bench, a truly remarkable record and one that nobody would have predicted when he first arrived in Scotland. The fact that we are even considering keeping him around into his 40th year says everything about his professionalism and attitude to his craft.

The fourth choice striker is a position that isn’t easy to fill, and in Defoe, we have someone who performs it to perfection, if only he was a few years younger and on a significantly smaller salary – if he wants to stay there is only one of these factors that he can affect because, on £20,000 per week, a player really should be starting more games than they are missing.