Colin Hendry rated Giovanni van Bronckhorst as world class when they were together at Rangers.
And he says the Dutchman's experience at some of the biggest clubs on the planet should put him high up the Ibrox club's wanted list as a gaffer.
Hendry and van Bronckhorst arrived in Glasgow together in 1998 as two of Dick Advocaat's star signings.
They would go on to lift a domestic Treble that year, winning the Scottish Premiership title on the ground of Old Firm rivals Celtic.
When he was snared from Feyenoord, van Bronckhorst was only 23 years old but Hendry couldn't fail to be impressed.
Not only was he an outstanding player on the pitch but also a consummate professional off it.
Hendry then watched Van Bronckhorst go on to Arsenal and Barcelona, where he won the Champions League in 2006 under Frank Rijkaard.
The former Gers midfielder also played in a World Cup Final for Holland before finishing his back at the De Kuip, where he later became boss.
He won five trophies in five years at Feyenoord and is now bookies' favourite to make a sensational return to Ibrox as Steven Gerrard's replacement.
Hendry isn't surprised to see van Bronckhorst linked with the job and believes the experience he's picked up at major football clubs around Europe gives him the edge over other candidates.
The former Scotland skipper said: “Giovanni has done reasonably well as a manager since he stopped playing.
“But as a player at Rangers, he was world class. He was just exceptional.
“And the thing about Giovanni is that he knows the football club.
“He's been there in the past and experienced the greatest heights with Rangers. He knows the club well, having played for it.
“So I suspect that he'll be on their shortlist, I really do. I think he'll definitely be in amongst it.
“He was actually one of the quieter Dutch boys at Rangers back then. Arthur Numan was more larger than life.
“And Dick was just Dick. He was dour and you very rarely got a smile off the manager.
“Giovanni was always just a seasoned professional. When you look at his playing career at Rangers and what he did after that – he played for Arsenal and Barcelona.
“That's an incredible playing career and – although I've not looked into his coaching career heavily – he's done well enough.
“And very recently he's been shadowing Pep at Manchester City for a spell so he's involved with him.
“Do Rangers need a big character in charge? I think you just need the nous to be Rangers manager.
“You need an understanding of the football club and also the experience of working at big clubs.
“That's where Gerrard had the advantage of having played for one of the biggest in the UK in Liverpool.
“He came from there and got a sharp, quick understanding of what Rangers are like – the size of the football club and the level required.
“So Giovanni will understand all of that having played for them.”
A section of the Rangers fan base are unhappy at the timing of Gerrard's exit to Aston Villa, which was confirmed on Thursday.
The Ibrox club are top of the Premiership, have a Premier Sports Cup semi-final next weekend and then a Europa League crunch tie against Sparta Prague.
But Hendry's been in the game long enough to know Gerrard's departure was inevitable.
He knows better than anyone that Rangers are a bigger club than Villa, in terms of stature.
But having spent a decade in the English Premier League with Blackburn Rovers – where he lifted the trophy – Bolton and Coventry City, he understands why Gerrard felt he had to return south.
He says Villa are one of England's biggest clubs and doubts whether Gerrard would have got his dream move to Liverpool off the back of his work at Ibrox.
Hendry said: “I'm not surprised or shocked in any way that he's gone. It's a bigger playground he's gone to.
“I've read social media and I understand that the Rangers supporters are upset.
“Rangers are a bigger club than Aston Villa. But he's gone to a bigger playground and it was always on the cards that he would go back to England at some point.
“And listen, Aston Villa is a big club. They're a massive football club in England.
“Back in the 80's they were winning in Europe and everything else. Now, 40-odd years is a long time since they were at the high end of English football.
“But they're an enormous football club, the biggest one in Birmingham.
“I always loved going to play in Villa Park. We were there with Scotland when we lost 0-0 to Holland at Euro '96.
“That's the only way to describe that game. But that was probably the best atmosphere I ever played in.
“When people ask me that, I say Villa Park.
“This was always going to happen with Gerrard. A lot of people thought he'd wait for the Liverpool job.
“But would Liverpool go for Steven after doing five or six years at Rangers? Would that have fitted the bill for them?
“Obviously, he has that connection and history there already. But I don't think it's a bad move for him going to Aston Villa.
“He's going to a really big club in England and, importantly, a far bigger playground in the Premier League.”
