Sky Sports presenter Dharmesh Sheth has said that he spoke to Jermain Defoe on Thursday afternoon just before news broke of his stunning reported move to Rangers.
The news of his 18-month loan deal was broken on Sky Sports and has become the most talked-about transfer story of the week.
Talking on Sky Sports news (Thursday, 4pm) Sheth said, “He is well aware he could become a huge hero at Rangers. I’ve spoken to him in the last hour, very, very briefly.
“There’s obviously still a lot of work to be done on this deal, it’s only an agreement between both clubs it must be said.
“But what he’s saying to me at the moment, he’s very excited. He knows he could become a massive hero there.
“Imagine, Jim, if he scores the goals that fire Rangers to the Scottish Premiership title.
“Celtic I’m sure will have plenty to say about that.
“But what a story for Jermain Defoe and what a story for Scottish football.”
OPINION
We’re loving this story move and more. Defoe has made his money in the Premier League and now he’s looking to make himself a hero in Scotland with Steven Gerrard. It’s an incredible story that deserves the fairytale ending that Sheth talked about. If Defoe can stay fit then we think he’s going to be a huge success at Ibrox. He’s obviously still got the motivation – it sounds like he’s literally just going over to play. He’s obviously getting paid but we imagine he’ll have had to have taken a big wage cut to play for Rangers. And that’s what’s so refreshing about this story. You can’t underplay the impact Gerrard will have had on this deal and on Scottish football either, though. There’s no way this deal would have happened without Gerrard and he’s already done more to shine a spotlight on Scottish football than any other manager. Brendan Rodgers might have won everything, but Gerrard has got the neutrals excited about Scottish football again. And, like the Defoe deal, that’s massive.