Four other world-class players Rangers should be looking at

Jermain Defoe is like a fine wine, he just gets better with age. Okay, well maybe he doesn’t exactly get better, but he’s going off at a much slower rate than you’d expect – like soy milk.

At the age of 36, it seems the pint-sized marksman is headed north of the border (although awareness of borders never has been Defoe’s strong suit, as his Toronto FC unveiling showed) and could play a pivotal role in this season’s title race whether he knows it or not.

As Rangers start to get excited at the addition of a striker who is entering the twilight of his career, to put it kindly, it does beg the question: which other stars could still do a job in the Scottish Premiership despite their advanced years?

Here are some ideal targets for the ‘Gers should the Defoe move hit the rocks…

GLASGOW, SCOTLAND – FEBRUARY 17: Ally McCoist, coach of Rangers, takes part in a training session with his players at Murray Park on February 17, 2012 in Glasgow, Scotland. Rangers face Kilmarnock on Saturday following a week where the club went officially into administration, incurring a 10 point penalty from the Scottish Premier League. (Photo by Jeff J Mitchell/Getty Images)

Ally McCoist

He may now be 56 and he may now look like an amiable pub landlord, but you’d still back Coisty to pop up in the box and do the job.

Granted, McCoist has put on a few pounds since he last graced the Ibrox turf, but to be honest he was always a poacher rather than a speedy player and even sat in a deckchair on the edge of the opposition box he could pose a threat every time the ball landed near him.

Diego Maradona

The great Diego has never quite managed to make the transition to coaching work for him despite his best attempts, but maybe that’s because he still has some life in those old legs.

His weight could be problematic, but if Charlie Miller managed it then why couldn’t Maradona, who may have even greater talent, pull it off?

Some would argue that Maradona’s penchant for cocaine could cause trouble too, but what defender wants to come up against a coked-up Diego?

George Haigh

A commanding and fearless centre-back toughened up by spells in the military, Haigh can bring the kind of defensive rigidity that Steven Gerrard’s side lack when under pressure.

A real old head, Haigh has seen it all and what he lacks in pace now he can make up for in experience and nous.

Of course, at the age of 103, and being one of the oldest living former footballers, Haigh might give up half-a-yard to speedy strikers, but how many of Rangers’s current crop can find their way around a bleaching factory, fly a plane and operate a machine gun? Not as many as you might think…

Budapest, HUNGARY: A portrait of Hungarian-Spanish football legend Ferenc Puskas is displayed in front of his coffin in the St. Stephan Basilica 07 December 2006, as Hungarian dignitaries were the first to bid farewell to Puskas who will lie in state at the Basilica. The funeral of football star will be held on Saturday during a national day of mourning. AFP PHOTO / ATTILA KISBENEDEK (Photo credit should read ATTILA KISBENEDEK/AFP/Getty Images)

Ferenc Puskas

A player so renowned for scoring great goals that FIFA literally named the best goal of the year award after him.

Puskas scored an astounding 514 goals in 529 matches in his club career in Hungary and Spain, so we can assume he wouldn’t struggle in the Scottish Premiership.

There may be question marks over whether Puskas, just five foot seven and with a relatively slight frame, could withstand the physicality of Scottish football, and some naysayers may feel that the fact he died in 2006 could stand in the way of a move.

However, signing one of the game’s undisputed all-time greats would be a clear signal of intent from Gerrard and would surely guarantee winning the Puskas Award and therefore some silverware in his maiden season at the helm.