'The best I've worked with' - What Premier League stars have said about Davide Ancelotti's managerial qualities amid Rangers links

Davide Ancelotti has emerged as the top candidate to lead Rangers into a new era with reports earlier this week claiming the Real Madrid assistant was ‘one step away’ from making his first venture into management with the Ibrox club.

The in-demand Italian coach was even reported to have his No.2 lined up with Francesco Mauri - key member of Carlo’s backroom staff at Madrid - named in Spain as the man who would team up with the 35-year-old in Govan.

Discussions have taken place with Ancelotti Jr over the Light Blues vacancy and his name is under serious consideration, with suggestions that he is ready to knock back interest from clubs in Saudi Arabia to make the move to Glasgow.

With a potential three-year-deal in the pipeline, Ancelotti is primed to take his first steps into manager after spells gaining experience and winning silverware at Bayern Munich, Napoli, Everton and Madrid with his illustrious dad, who is most successful manager in Champions League history.

With Carlo set to lose his trusted lieutenant for the first time, it’s still expected that Ancelotti jr will remain committed to his father by temporarily joining him in South America ahead of making his Brazil national team bow before reportedly being freed to take over the Glasgow giants.

Brazil have games against Ecuador and Paraguay on June 6 and 10 before Ancelotti Jr will make his own way in the world, with Rangers involved in Champions League qualifiers just a few weeks later.

49ers Enterprises and US health tycoon Andrew Cavenagh are close to taking full control at Ibrox with ex-Everton sporting director Kevin Thelwell also coming on board this summer.

And it’s even stated that Rangers could be getting the real mastermind behind Champions League success if they appoint Ancelotti, with the coach having a bigger part to play on those success than may have been realised.

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But what can the Rangers squad expect from the Italian coach that the club’s prospective new owners have zoned in on. Two former Everton stars have given some insight...

What has Mason Holgate said about Davide Ancelotti?

Ancelotti was once described by Mason Holgate - on loan at EFL Championship side West Brom - as an “unbelievable” coach. In a resurfaced interview from the Daily Mail during his time at Everton, Holgate said: “Davide is also a very good coach, unbelievable to be honest, one of the best I have worked with.

“He is similar to his dad, calm and easy to speak to. You can speak to him about many things not just football. He is a really good coach and owns what he is talking about. All the staff the gaffer brought in are the same, easy-going, nice people who you can speak to.”

What has Alex Iwobi said said Ancelotti’s influence?

Current Fulham winger Alex Iwobi also played under the duo at Everton and offered an insight into how the father-and-son dynamic works from a player's perspective. He states Davide is the one who does a lot of the talking to the players and has a major influence on in-game decisions taken by his dad.

Recalling their arrival at the Toffees back in 2019, Iwobi told the Filthy Fellas podcast: “I remember when he first got appointed. Everyone was just eating lunch and he's walked in. Everyone's just chatting. As soon as he's walked in, everyone was silent. Everyone was just looking. That was mad. We'd heard about it (the appointment) but when he actually walks in, his presence was mental.”

Asked how much he could learn from the 65-year-old, Iwobi made an interesting revelation about the Rangers-linked younger boss.

“He (Carlo) comes down and he watches training,” he said. “He does have his say but it's more his son that does the talking, obviously he will have his input as well. If you watch the games, you'll see his son always chatting to him.”