Jermain Defoe has spoken about his desire to extend his contract at Rangers so that he can get the opportunity to say goodbye to the fans but the chances of this happening appear to be pretty slim given how big his weekly wage is reported to be.
With this in mind we need to find a player who is capable of performing the same role – an experienced striker who won’t expect to play every week but will score goals when he does – which isn’t as straight forward as it may seem.
One such player though is Marcus Berg, a Swedish international team-mate of Filip Helander who is currently playing in the Russian Premier Liga, at 34-years old (nearly 35) his time as a first-choice front man is nearly at an end but his performances for Krasnodar suggest that there is life in the old dog yet.
Berg has 12 goals and four assists in 25 appearances, starting 61% of his side’s league fixtures where he has a goal every 129 minutes, the sort of consistency that would be demanded at Rangers, he also measures up on expected goals (xG), shots per 90 and shots on target per 90 when compared to other forwards in Russia.
Artem Dzyuba – Zenit pic.twitter.com/VkjjJaEzu9
— Marc P. Lamberts (@lambertsmarc) March 28, 2021
The best thing about Berg is his hold up play though, his ability to bring other players into the game is the main reason why Sweden persisted with him when he was playing his club football in Qatar and struggling for goals at international level.
His career record of 249 goals and 73 assists in 471 appearances in Germany, Holland, Greece and Sweden is outstanding and with the 6ft striker available for free in the summer, he is someone we should consider – if Defoe doesn’t get his wish.