Gers tipped for Defoe upgrade as 39 goal/assist striker sets the benchmark

There will be few amongst the Rangers support that would argue against how well Jermain Defoe has performed his role since arriving at the club from Bournemouth.

He was always only going to be a back-up striker, a player used to give others a rest and one that, hopefully, others would learn from, but now that the club has returned to the summit, and given that better use could be made of his wages, the time has come for him to move on – if he wants to continue playing that is.

One pundit who believes that Rangers could actually upgrade on Defoe is former England team-mate, Gabriel Agbonlahor, who, speaking to Football Insider, believes that Steven Gerrard will want to continue strengthening his squad.

“It’s hard at Rangers because Kemar Roofe is younger and is a good striker and Alfredo Morelos is a good striker.

“I feel like if Rangers do win the league, which it looks like they’re going to do and if they get to the latter stages of the Europa League, which it looks like they’re going to do, they’re probably going to attract better players now and a top striker.

“Steven Gerrard won’t want to sit on the squad he’s got – he’ll want to keep getting better and better.

“Jermain Defoe will be hoping to play longer and I’m sure any Championship side would love to have him in their side.”

Despite only featuring 12 times and playing a little over 450 minutes, Defoe still has a goal or an assist record better than one every 90 minutes and when you consider that he is now 38-years old, it’s just a shame that his body isn’t as durable as Connor Goldson’s, because that record shows exactly why he was brought to the club in the first place.

In total he has 39 goals and assists in 64 games for Rangers, we would be delighted if our first choice striker was producing figures like that, he may have been on a decent weekly wage but his return, the way he has represented the club and the impact he has had on Alfredo Morelos has been worth every penny and replacing him is going to take some doing.