Balogun is lauded as a big leader by Ibrox boss

STEVEN GERRARD has hailed Leon Balogun for already emerging as a leader within the Rangers squad.

Signed on a free transfer from Wigan, the 32-year-old (below) has made an impressive start to his Ibrox career by aiding clean sheets against Aberdeen and St Mirren.

Gerrard believes Balogun’s influence is also being felt off the pitch and is delighted by his rapid adaptation.

‘Behind the scenes here, we have an excellent staff,’ said the Rangers manager, whose side host St Johnstone this evening.

‘I’m not just talking about football staff, I’m talking about everyone who has a responsibility to make sure that these players settle as quickly as they can.

‘A lot of them are making big sacrifices coming from different countries and moving their families up here to Glasgow. So we’ve put a big effort into trying to get them to settle as quickly as possible.

‘But I’ve been really impressed with Leon, not just as a player but as a character. He’s a leader.

‘He’s been fantastic for the dressing room. He seems like he has been here for an awful lot longer than he has.

‘You can see quite clearly why we brought him in. In terms of his profile and how he plays, it suits how we want to play.’

Balogun has spells with Brighton, Mainz 05 and Werder Bremen on his club CV, while he played in all three of Nigeria’s games at the 2018 World Cup finals.

‘He’s a man,’ continued Gerrard. ‘He’s been around and he’s got valuable experience. I do like four centre-backs in my squad and I’m really happy with how all four are training and playing at the moment.

‘I’ve got extremely good options to use whenever I need them. Leon has settled in like a duck to water. He’s a vocal guy but in a positive way.

‘There are certainly signs of real strong leadership there, which I’m really happy about.’

Rangers kept clean sheets in their four pre-season friendlies, meaning Moussa Diaby’s strike for Bayer Leverkusen is the only goal leaked since returning to action following lockdown.

‘I’m very happy with how we are defending at the moment,’ said Gerrard. ‘Even in Leverkusen, aside from one moment, we looked really organised.

‘We’ve put a lot of work into our out-of-possession stuff and our organisation every single day. And we have done for two years.

‘We will continue to work on that. We’re certainly not sitting here thinking everything is rosy because we have had two clean sheets. That’s a constant message.’ Gerrard reiterated his praise for Alfredo Morelos after the Colombian shrugged off transfer talk to score twice against St Mirren. Reports in France now claim Lille will only restart talks for Morelos if they sell Jonathan Ikone. ‘He’s trained well, he’s smiling and he’s happy,’ added the Ibrox boss. ‘I mentioned a short while ago about his head being down but that’s only natural when you’re dealing with someone his age and the amount of noise that’s surrounded him.

‘All we ask of Alfredo is to retain that focus for Rangers and put in stronger performances until or if that situation changes.’

Allan McGregor remains sidelined with a knock sustained in Germany, while Jermain Defoe has suffered a minor setback in training.

However, new £3.5million forward Kemar Roofe has trained this week and is in contention for a place in the squad to face St Johnstone tonight.