Jermain Defoe: Rangers striker becomes player-coach after agreeing new one-year deal

Jermain Defoe scored Rangers’ final goal of season 2020-21 in the 4-0 defeat of Aberdeen

Jermain Defoe will take on a player-coach role with Rangers after agreeing a new one-year contract at Ibrox.

The 38-year-old former England striker initially moved to Rangers on loan from Bournemouth in 2019 before signing a one-year deal last summer.

He has scored 32 goals in 72 games for Steven Gerrard’s side, helping them win the 2020-21 Scottish Premiership title.

Meanwhile, forward Greg Stewart and South Africa midfielder Bongani Zungu are leaving Rangers.

Stewart, the 31-year-old formerly of Aberdeen and Kilmarnock, is at the end of his two-year contract, while 28-year-old Zungu was on loan from French club Amiens.

A clause in the Zungu deal meant Rangers could have made the move permanent for a £2.7m fee, but the midfielder could not force himself into the starting line-up and was then handed a six-game suspension from the Scottish FA after attending an illegal lockdown party along with four team-mates in February.

Defoe said he wanted to agree a new deal “even before the season finished” and added: “To sign another contract as a player-coach, and to still be a part of it, it is an amazing feeling for me and my family.”

He and fellow strikers Cedric Itten, Alfredo Morelos and Kemar Roofe will soon be joined by another forward – Fashion Sakala, who has been recruited from Belgian club Oostende.

The 24-year-old Zambia international told DJ Showstar TV’s YouTube channel: “I had meetings with Premier League teams. I had meetings with teams in France and in La Liga.

“But, looking at how Gerrard explained to me how he wants me to play, I could tell he really wanted me to be part of his squad and he can see something big coming from me.

“Going to the Premier League too early can become a curse.”