Latest reports from the BBC confirms that Rangers are poised to pull off the signing of English striker Jermain Defoe who is going to join Ibrox on a loan deal of 18 months. It was also being reported (The Scotsman) that Celtic were also in the mix to sign the Bournemouth striker, but the Gers have managed to steal the deal. Reports also add that Eddie Howe will have the option of recalling the striker in the summer or in January of 2020.
The Cherries have stuttered a bit after a bright start to the season. Callum Wilson has been in tremendous goalscoring form, and there is no doubt that the manager would continue using him as the no.1 striker. Howe also has decent backups in the way of Josh King, Ryan Fraser and Lys Mousset. Therefore, it made sense for the club to let Defoe leave this month as he is surplus to requirements at the moment.
Even until last season though, Defoe played a decent role for his side as he made 24 appearances in the Premier League. We think the forward still has enough firepower in his arsenal to lead the line for the Gers.
Rangers have done well to keep up to pace with Celtic in the title race as they are level on points with them having played a game more. However, there is a clear dependency on Alfredo Morelos to score goals regularly, and oppositions know that thwarting him would do the job more often than not regarding keeping the Rangers attack quiet. Therefore, it is no surprise that Gerrard went in for another striker and Defoe is definitely a great addition to the squad.
The fact that the Gers managed to lure Defoe over Celtic shows the influence which Gerrard has brought in at Ibrox, and there is no doubt to us that ‘the Gerrard factor’ again helped the Bears to seal this deal.
The English striker might be 36, but he still has those killer instincts in front of goal which made him a success in the Premier League. His running in between the defence line and from the shoulders of the defenders have often been tough to defend against, and we believe he can do a decent job when called upon by Gerrard.
His experience too would come in handy especially now that we have a tight title race on our hands. With Morelos, Gerrard should know that he is never too far away from a suspension and the gaffer needed to have a decent backup striker in his repertoire. Defoe is the perfect short-term answer to those problems, and the club have done brilliant business early on in the January window.
