Jermain Defoe and Ianis Hagi send classy transfer messages to Rangers hero after emotional deadline day move
A Rangers hero’s transfer on deadline has sparked a legion of Ibrox faces sending their messages.
Jermain Defoe is just one of the many Rangers faces past and present to wish a club hero a fond congratulations after his latest transfer.
Alongside the likes of ex-manager Steven Gerrard and former midfielder Ryan Jack, Defoe has looked on with glee after Scott Arfield’s return to Falkirk. The veteran is a hero at Rangers after helping the club to title 55 in 2021 while also playing a role in the Europa League final run a year later.
It’s an emotional return to the club where Arfield started his career, made even more poignant after taking on the number 37 shirt. He will wear the number in memory of Craig Gowans, after it had been retired in memory of the former player who was tragically killed aged just 17 in 2005 in a freak accident.
Arfield wore the number across stints at Rangers, Burnley, Charlotte FC and Bolton, with the shirt to be retired again after he leaves the club. “Love this man” is what Defoe responded to Arfield’s Instagram post while current playmaker Ianis Hagi said “Good luck, Scotty!” Jordan Jones and Alan Hutton were others to send congratulations.
The veteran said after swapping Bolton for Falkirk on deadline day: "In terms of the stadium, nothing has changed, only a different font in the writing! It feels nostalgic and that's the way I like it. This club should be in the top division and that's my duty. I'm ecstatic to be back. I feel as if I was sort of due to come back and it's an amazing opportunity.
"The ambition is to get this club back to where it was. I was part of the team that brought the club down so I think I have a duty to bring them back up. I actually spoke to the gaffer a couple of years ago when I left Rangers. I felt I needed a different journey, though, and I went down the route of America.
"But when this situation came up, and with the manager being an icon of the Scottish game, it was a no-brainer. I always wanted to come back to Falkirk in some capacity, as a player, coach or manager. This club has given me so much and my family has a special bond with it.
“It was the start of my football journey. So what a great opportunity this is and if we manage to get up, what a three months it could be."