Defoe told Neil 'you've got to go' to Rangers

Jermain Defoe urged Dan Neil to join Rangers before the midfielder signed a three-year contract at Ibrox.

Neil, 24, had revealed he sought advice from former Rangers forward Defoe, who had similarly advised Mikey Moore, the Tottenham winger who spent last season on loan at Ibrox.

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"It's a special football club to be honest," Defoe told Sky Sports.

"I always knew that Rangers was a big club but I didn't know how big.

"Before he even spoke, it was 'you've got to go'. You have to go. If you want a challenge, I said you have to go."

Defoe helped Rangers win the 2020-21 Scottish Premiership and Neil joins an Ibrox team coming off a disappointing season in which they finished third.

Derek McInnes has replaced Danny Rohl in the dugout and former Sunderland midfielder Neil joins Ben Godfrey, Ross McCrorie, Ivor Pandur and Lawrence Shankland in becoming a Rangers player this summer.

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"For Rangers, they're signing a top player," said Defoe, who also played for Sunderland. "A top young player that is a good character. He works hard.

"And that's sort of one of the demands up there, you have to run around and work hard and give everything when you wear that shirt."

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