Rangers undoubtedly pulled off one, if not the, transfer coup of January when we brought in Bournemouth striker Jermain Defoe on an 18 month loan spell the other day.
With plenty of praise and credit arriving at the gates of Ibrox following the deal, it’s fair to say there has also been criticism based purely in jealousy that manager Steven Gerrard was able to pull in such a calibre of player and the worry for those outside of the club is it’s the first major deal on that score of potentially many more to come as he taps up his own contacts in the game.
Speaking to Sky Sports with Defoe through the door and now with his new colleagues on our warm weather training camp out in Tenerife, Gerrard said that he felt the capture was absolutely a ‘win, win’ deal for all three parties involved and he had particular praise for Bournemouth for helping the deal to go through.
“To be honest Bournemouth are the key to getting Jermain here, they’ve been super helpful. I must say a huge thank you to Eddie Howe who’s been very understanding. I think he’s been very respectful to Jermain and his career and I think it’s a win-win situation for everyone. Jermain gets the move he wants, he gets to play. He wants to score goals, we can provide that stage for him. The fans are super excited and so are the staff to work with him. I know more than most what he’s about, what he’s capable of.”
Gerrard went on to say that his age, 36-year’s-old isn’t an issue for him because he knows Defoe has taken care of himself and is in great shape.
“People talk about his age which is fine but I know the player, I know the professional. I know he’s in a very young body, he doesn’t drink, he works exceptionally hard. I met him recently and he’s in fantastic shape so a lot of work’s gone into it from myself and Mark (Allen, director of football). We’ve been monitoring the situation for a long time but it wasn’t until of late that we approached Bournemouth and they’ve been super helpful.”
He’s certainly going to be a massive boost this season and not only should it take the pressure of Alfredo Morelos, which in turn should help him, Defoe can absolutely help our young live wire to develop and show more sense at points as well.