Joe Jordan reckons Jermain Defoe is a great signing for Rangers (2025)

JOE JORDAN insists Steven Gerrard lit the blue touch paper when he signed Celtic target Jermain Defoe.

Scotland legend Jordan reckons Hoops supporters will be green with envy unless the champs respond in the transfer market.

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Jordan knows veteran Defoe better than most, having been part of the management team who signed the striker for both Portsmouth and Spurs.

Ex-Celtic No2 Jordan was assistant to Harry Redknapp during the little hitman’s stint at Fratton Park, and his second spell back at White Hart Lane.

Defoe may be in the last throes of a glittering career at 36, but Jordan sees his arrival at a crucial juncture in a red-hot title race as a real game-changer.

Jordan said: “This is a signing that will make the league buzz a bit.

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“It will be interesting to see how Celtic respond to Defoe’s arrival, and I’m sure they will.

“I think they will be hurting a little bit from the way Rangers beat them last weekend at Ibrox.

“It will be interesting to see who turns up at Parkhead this month. Recruitment is going to be hugely important for them.

“Celtic will need to do something, especially after all the headlines with Defoe.

“He is still a big name, and Steven Gerrard will want to set up his team to benefit. It is now up to Celtic to respond to that signing.”

From his loan spell at Bournemouth as a teenager, to his latest stint with the Cherries, Jordan has followed the career of Defoe closely.

In between the hitman has starred for West Ham, Portsmouth, Spurs three times, Toronto and Sunderland.

There is also the small matter of 57 England caps, the majority of them alongside his new boss at Ibrox.

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The common theme throughout his two decades in the game is goals, a total of 222 of them for club and country in his prolific career.

As a famous goalscorer at the very highest level for Leeds, Manchester United and AC Milan, Jordan is a huge admirer of Gers’ latest capture.

Jordan added: “Jermain’s a goalscorer. His record proves it and shows that is exactly what he is. He has an uncanny ability to score goals.

“If you get the ball in the box then he will get on the end of it.

"He has done it his whole career, right back to when he went on loan to Bournemouth as a young kid.

“That move helped him and he hasn’t looked back since. He has been prolific since his teens.

“Clubs buy him to score goals — simple as that. He is so sharp in the box.

“Defoe is 36 now and hasn’t played as much as he would like lately for Bournemouth, but his previous record is first class.

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“He has scored goals at every level he’s played at, and that includes an excellent record with England.

“Defoe, through all the time I have known him, is a great pro and a marvellous goalscorer. I wouldn’t describe him as an old-fashioned No9, like Alan Shearer was.

“But Jermain comes alive in the penalty area. He is alert to everything in and around the box.

“Gerrard clearly knows him well having played with him for England, and will have played against him plenty of times over the years.

“He knows what he is looking for and he will have a specific role earmarked for him at Ibrox.

“Knowing Jermain, he will be up for the challenge. Defoe has great belief in his ability, and was always so positive in the dressing room.

“He will go to Rangers with a real purpose now.”

Jordan, now 67, is still regarded as one of Scottish football’s greatest ever players, and even though he now lives in England, he is still an avid follower of the game north of the border.

Joe Jordan reckons Jermain Defoe is a great signing for Rangers (5)

Jordan attended the first Old Firm clash of the season, and was startled to see the huge transformation in both sides when he watched last week’s clash on TV.

He said: “I have seen a few games this season. I was up at the Hibs v Celtic game in Edinburgh recently, and I was at the first Old Firm game.

“Celtic were very dominant that day, but the roles were reversed in the game last week as Rangers bossed it.

“The league looks strong, and Rangers did the title race a good turn against Celtic last time out. I saw a different way that they approached the game.

“At Parkhead, Rangers were passive and Celtic dominated. The possession Celtic had was incredible, and they could have scored a lot more.

“But you could say the same about Ibrox last week. If Rangers had taken their chances they could have won by a lot more.

“Those games showed the best of both teams.

“Over the season so far it has been very close, and there is no doubt that Steven Gerrard has come in and made a big impact at Ibrox.”

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Jordan was no stranger to fierce derby clashes during his playing days having sampled them in Yorkshire at Leeds and across the Pennines in Manchester.

The towering hitman also revelled in the Milan derby when he spent three years in Serie A.

But for Jordan there is still one game that gets the juices flowing above all others.

Jordan added: “I go to games when I fancy it. I went to the first Old Firm game this season, and I went over to see Milan play Parma.

“When I fancy taking in a game then I do that as I still enjoy watching live football. There is nothing to beat going to a game, especially an Old Firm clash.

“When you see that live it still takes a bit of beating. I love the atmosphere and the passion that is on show.

“There is competitive edge and both sets of supporters give it a bit as well. It is always hard to top.”

'VERY LUCKY' Coulibaly insists Hibs star could have ended his CAREER

JOE JORDAN dreams of seeing a new generation of Scottish superstars put the country back on the footballing map.

One of the greatest players of his generation, the Tartan Army hero repeatedly helped fire Scotland to World Cups.

Jordan then wrote his name in the history books by becoming the only Scot to score in THREE successive finals from 1974 to 1982.

Yet, since France 1998 there has been nothing but a catalogue of failure, and Jordan is desperate to see that barren run finally end.

Jordan said: “We have had a few lean years, but the team has been doing a bit better. There is a little bit of encouragement.

“I just hope there are players who can come through to provide us with a bright future, and that reaching a tournament is not too far away.

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“I want to see real competition for a place in the national team as it is not as strong as it has been in the past.

“In my era the competition for places was incredible, with strength in depth in positions all over the pitch.

“Yet, a lot of these guys didn’t start off at the most fashionable of clubs.

“I played for Morton, Gordon McQueen was at St Mirren, and Alan Hansen was at Partick Thistle. You could go on and on.

“I’m hoping Scottish players now get the chance to prove themselves and start to come through again.

“By playing at the highest level we can show everyone Scotland has that depth again, and we can start to compete at international level.”

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Jordan has been encouraged by the emergence of Liverpool star Andy Robertson, the only Scot playing regularly with one of Europe’s leading clubs.

Jordan added: “I have watched him and he has done exceptionally well. Liverpool did well to spot him and nurture him.

“They have signed a few bargains and he is certainly one of them. He is playing well at the highest level and is a big part of how Liverpool play.

“Their full-backs push on, express themselves in the last third and it has worked incredibly well for the team.

“Robertson is buzzing at the moment, and we would love a few more players like that.”

JOE JORDAN watched his great friend Harry Redknapp crowned King of the Jungle as he charmed a nation.

But the former Scotland star insists ‘I’m a Celebrity — Get Me Out of Here’ is not for him.

Jordan worked alongside Redknapp at Portsmouth, Spurs and Queens Park Rangers.

Jordan said: “Harry did very well, although it didn’t really surprise me he won.

“I don’t know much about the programme, but I hoped he would be in it towards the end.

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“I think it is the younger generation who watch it, and I was wondering if people would know Harry.

“People soon grasped what he was all about, and seemed to love all his tales about his time in football.

“I knew most of them and they are 100 per cent right! I think Harry captured the imagination of the whole population.

“He got a lot of publicity just for being himself. I was delighted for him, but going into the jungle is not for me. I’m quite happy where I am.”

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Joe Jordan reckons Jermain Defoe is a great signing for Rangers (2025)

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