Daily Mirror (Northern Ireland)
YOUR MOVE , CELTIC
Gers up the ante in title race as Defoe jets into Glasgow to join Gerrard’s revolution
JERMAIN DEFOE is expected to arrive in Glasgow in the next 24 hours as he races to join Rangers big push towards the title.
The 36-year-old plans to be part of Steven Gerrard’s travelling party to Tenerife this Sunday after agreeing to move to Ibrox on an 18 month long loan deal in a dramatic transfer window capture.
And with Northern Ireland skipper
Steven Davis – who is poised to complete his move from Southampton – also hoping to have his transfer tied up in time to catch that flight, Gerrard appears to be gearing up for a major assault on Celtic’s title in the second half of the campaign. Now former Spurs striker Defoe looks set to beat Davis to it. Bournemouth gave Gerrard their blessing yesterday afternoon when they allowed Defoe to leave the South Coast on loan just half way through a three year deal. It’s unclear what percentage of Defoe’s bumper wages the Ibrox club have agreed to cover as part of the deal to bring the 36-year-old north.
But Defoe i s believed to have been raking in between £65,000 and £80,000 a week since moving to The Vitality Stadium at the start of last season
A source close to the player confirmed: “The deal has been completed and Jermain will be signing for Rangers for 18 months. It is his intention to travel to
Tenerife for their warm weather training amp at the weekend.
“It’s all happened very quickly. There had been speculation for a while but it was all pushed through during two or three hours of talks between the clubs this afternoon.”
Last night, Southampton manager Ralph Hasenhuttl confirmed Davis (left) is expected to rejoin Rangers.