Rangers veteran Jermain Defoe admits he's excited by the potential of Calvin Bassey ahead of the young full back joining up with the squad.
The defender signed a pre-contract to join from Leicester City but is yet to arrive in Glasgow for pre-season training with Rangers returning last week.
But Defoe has revealed that he's been watching the youngster and recalled him lining up for Leicester in a bounce game against the Ibrox side during the course of last season.
Steven Gerrard has predicted that he would surprise players and now Defoe has tipped him to a big impact at the club.
He told RangersTV: "Calvin Bassey, I’m looking forward to him coming up. I’ve seen some clips of him and obviously there was the friendly game at Ibrox last season that he played in so great potential.
"I’m looking forward to seeing these young players and I’m sure those two names you mentioned (Bassey and Ianis Hagi) will be massive for us this season in trying to achieve something special."
The 37-year-old has spoken in the past about his ambition to be listed alongside some of Rangers' best players on the walls of the Ibrox tunnel as a league winner at the club.
And Defoe reiterated those hopes as he admitted he's thrilled to be a permanent Rangers player after 18 months on loan at the club from Bournemouth.
He added: "When you go to a club on loan even though you are part of it, you still think, ‘Well I’m contracted to another club’, but to actually be a Rangers player it is something I was looking forward to and I’m just happy it got done and I’m looking forward to the season.
"I’ve loved it, from the minute I walked in the door the love from all the players, the manager who I knew before, the coaches, the women in the canteen, everyone around the training ground, the kitman Jimmy (Bell) and the fans has been amazing.
"That’s why when I signed the contract I was just delighted and couldn’t wait to be a Rangers player and hopefully go onto achieve some special things here.
"When players come to the back end of their careers they drop down leagues or play for lesser clubs and I’ve said before I feel blessed that I get to come to another massive club.
"Especially with the lockdown, you’ve got a lot of thinking time and you reflect on everything and I’ve aways said to achieve something here with this group of players and all the staff and everyone.
"For me it would be so special because when you finish your career when you look back, you can always come back here and if you look at the names of the wall and if you can be among those names it would be amazing because it’s a massive football club and I feel blessed to be here."
