Defoe backs Colak to come good at Ibrox having seen striker up close
Double against Rangers for Malmo was proof for Englishman that Croat has what it takes to lead line
TOM LAWRENCE gave Rangers supporters an early indication of what he can offer this season in just his second appearance for the Ibrox club on Tuesday night.
The Wales internationalist, who joined the Glasgow giants on a free transfer from Derby County earlier this month, scored a goal and provided two assists in the second half of the pre-season friendly win over West Ham.
It was an early glimpse of what the experienced forward, who was deployed in the playmaker role in a 4-2-3-1 formation by his manager Giovanni van Bronckhorst after half-time, will contribute in the forthcoming campaign.
Lawrence’s fellow new recruit Antonio Colak, however, is still waiting to open his account for the Govan giants after three matches.
The Croatian striker, who had previously featured in the games against Sunderland and Blackpool, worked hard in all areas of the park on his home debut before being replaced by Fashion Sakala, but a goal once again eluded the player who was signed from PAOK in Greece for a £1.8m fee a fortnight ago.
It is very early days, but the 6ft 2in 28-year-old has to prove that he is capable of providing a cutting edge in the final third in the 2022/23 season and beyond.
Will he get the nod to start ahead of or alongside Alfredo Morelos and Kemar Roofe at home and abroad when the injured duo are available for selection? The jury remains out. Jermain Defoe, though, has no doubts whatsoever that Colak will show exactly why Van Bronckhorst was so keen to take him to Scotland this summer in the coming weeks and months.
Defoe is back in Glasgow this week to take in the matches between his old clubs Rangers, West Ham and Spurs, where he is now working with the under-18 and under-23 teams as well as in an ambassadorial position. He believes the former Nurnberg, Lechia Gdansk, 1899 Hoffenheim, Kaiserslautern, Rijeka, PAOK and Malmo man is an excellent acquisition who will have no difficulty finding the back of the net domestically and in Europe.
The ex-England internationalist can recall how Colak killed off his side’s hopes of reaching the Champions League group stages last
August with two goals in the space of five minutes in a qualifier at Ibrox last August. He expects more of the same. “Antonio is a very good footballer,” said the player who became a firm supporters’ favourite during his two and a half years in this country. “I remember being really impressed with his movement and it was clear back then he was a goalscorer.
“His record at Malmo was good and we could see when he came to Ibrox last year that he had something about him so I’m excited to see how he does. You know when you’re looking at players if they are the type of characters who can cut it at Ibrox. He’s a clever player and someone I expect will continue to score goals. When you’re wearing that No.9 shirt you have to. It’s that simple.”
Defoe didn’t feature regularly when he was at Rangers; Morelos and Roofe were preferred to him in attack by both Steven Gerrard and Van Bronckhorst due to his advancing years. However, the 57-times-capped 39-year-old showed the younger members of the squad how they had to conduct themselves both on and off the field in order to succeed at the highest level as professionals.
He believes that retaining the services of Steven Davis and Allan McGregor, who signed contract extensions this summer which will keep them at Ibrox until 2023 and 2024 respectively, will help the new arrivals to settle and youngsters to make the step up to the first team.
“Giovanni van Bronckhorst has said it’s important to have a mix of senior players who have won things and then younger ones who are hungry to do the same,” he told the Rangers programme. “I think it’s been a good summer for Rangers in that respect between the new arrivals and those who were there already and have been retained.
“Re-signing the likes of Steven Davis and
Allan McGregor – proper professionals who know what it takes – is a no-brainer if they can still do a job, which I think they can. You need those kind of players around. The new signings will learn from them players and the hope is that’s how they will develop into winners as well.”
Both Joe Aribo and Calvin Bassey have followed Defoe out of Rangers this month in transfers that will bank the Ibrox club in the region of £30m. But their old team-mate is certain that Rangers can continue to flourish without the attacking midfielder and the defender due to the players they have retained and the business they have carried out in the close season.
“It’s not easy to replace players like them,” he said. “But I’m sure the club already has a number of ideas in place there before the sales went through. Rangers’ squad is still strong and remember it’s only a couple of months since they were in the Europa League final. There’s so much to build on. The bulk of the players who won 55 are at the club and they won the Scottish Cup in May so it’s a group that knows how to be successful. Rangers did so well in Europe last season that you do wonder how that impacted on the league. It’s so difficult to go all the way in both at the same time.
“Sooner or later, one becomes the priority over the other and it was a brilliant opportunity for Rangers to win a European trophy last season. But now it’s a fresh start and the focus first and foremost is on the league.”