Gerrard confirms he is “in talks” with 31-goal striker

Rangers really shouldn’t be entertaining signing soon-to-be 39-year old strikers, but when they are as good as Jermain Defoe, perhaps an exception can be made.

Yes, he’s old. Yes, his availability isn’t what it used to be and that he can’t play week in, week out and yes, his style of play doesn’t really suit our system but, what a player.

Vital Rangers has never doubted Defoe’s ability or his worth to this Rangers squad, however, if his reported £20,000 a week salary is accurate, we could be spending that money more wisely given that he has only played 589 minutes of football this season.

Statistics can be twisted to suit a narrative but the former England man’s return since signing for Rangers a couple of seasons ago isn’t up for debate, he might be further down the pecking order with Kemar Roofe in the squad but he still has 31 goals and 10 assists in 70 appearances, mainly off the bench – a ridiculous return.

He had looked to be heading out the door but his first Old Firm goal on Sunday served as the perfect reminder of what he is still capable of, it’s now no surprise that Steven Gerrard is looking to keep him around, as reported by Sky Sports:

“We’re in talks with Jermain at the moment about what’s next for Jermain. But we want to be really respectful, we want to give him the time to make his own decisions.

“I think he’s at a stage in his life where we’ll listen to Jermain and see what he wants to do moving forward.

“We’ll go from there. I don’t think it’s right for me to divulge right now what’s been said from my point of view and from his. But we’ll certainly respect Jermain in terms of his own decisions moving forward.”

A player/coach role is the most likely outcome but as the gaffer says, it all depends on how much football Defoe wants to be playing, he isn’t stupid, he will know that any move away from Rangers will be a step down, but if he does decided to leave, don’t be sad that it’s over, be glad that it happened.