Former Arsenal star and current Sky Sports pundit has been raving over Rangers’ signing of Jermaine Defoe but worries about whether he will get the service he needs to be a success at Ibrox.
The Gers sealed an 18 month long loan deal for the England international from Bournemouth and he has joined up with Steven Gerrard and his team in their warm weather training camp in Tenerife.
Predicting that he will be a success in Glasgow, scoring plenty for the Light Blues, Merson voiced his worry that the service he requires might be lacking.
He told Sky Sports’ The Debate (07/01, 22:00): “He’s a proper goalscorer. I can’t talk highly enough, I’m a massive fan and that could be the game changer up in Scotland.
“He needs service. Jermaine’s not going to get the ball on the halfway line and beat four players. He’s a one out of two, give him two chances he’ll score one. He is top drawer.
“My only worry would be can they provide him with balls down the side. You’re only as good as the people that serve you. If you ain’t getting enough service, you ain’t scoring a goal. It helps Rangers at the moment, they’re going away, they’ll be able to train, they’ll be able to see what he’s good at.
“For Rangers fans it’s a big signing, I think he’ll score bundles of goals, I really do.”
Opinion
Merson has hit the nail on the head with his verdict of Jermaine Defoe. The former Tottenham and Sunderland man is not going to be winning long balls launched forward or bringing his teammates into the game. What he is going to do is be in the right place at the right time to stick the ball in the back of the net – or at least force the goalkeeper into a good save. That requires the right kind of delivery and service from the likes of the wingers and midfielders, something which Gerrard, who used to serve Defoe for England, will know all too well. Do the Gers have what they need? Ryan Kent and Daniel Candeias have certainly shown the quality to provide on a constant basis, but a lack of creative midfielder means that penetrating balls through the middle of the pitch might be lacking. An area for Gerrard to address in the January window perhaps.