Moving on from Kyle Lafferty, it’s time to look at Jermain Defoe.
When the 36-year-old veteran signed for the Gers in January, it whipped plenty of Bears into a frenzy.
He was a surprise marquee signing and his arrival increased talk of a 55th top-flight league title for the Light Blues.
With hindsight, perhaps all that was a little premature. Defoe has been a top-class performer at club and international level for well over a decade.
Yet, when he made the switch from Bournemouth, he was desperately short of game time and had no prior exposure to the SPL.
He did manage to find the net on his debut against Killie. But while February and March brought a couple of further goals, Defoe was mainly confined to substitute appearances. In short, the £1.8m-rated forward [Transfermarkt] wasn’t tearing it up like many had predicted.
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However, Alfredo Morelos’ sending off and subsequent four-match ban against Celtic was a turning point for the England international.
El Bufalo’s absence handed Defoe a run in the no.9 shirt and boy did he take it. He netted three times in six starts at the back in of the season. That doesn’t sound overly spectacular, but it was his overall performance levels which were most impressive.
He buzzed around up top and linked up extremely well with the likes of Scott Arfield in the final third. After all, it was his cute dummy which created the chance for Arfield to slot home his iconic Old Firm goal last month.
If Defoe can take that sort of sharpness into next season, he will prove key. Now he has his fitness and experience of the league, he could lead the line for a 55-winning Rangers.
