Rangers have opened talks with veteran striker Jermain Defoe over a potential new contract with the club, according to The Scottish Sun. 

What is the latest news involving Rangers? 

The report claims that the club have started talks with the 38-year-old marksman, whose contract is due to expire this summer. Indeed, he's also been tipped for a move back to Sunderland of late and has previously hinted he'd be willing to move into a coaching role at the end of his career. 

Back in February, Football Insider claimed the former England striker was likely to leave Ibrox this summer though wasn't thought to be ready to retire. 

Interestingly, this doesn't appear to be the only contract Rangers are working on at the moment, with Football Insider also claiming recently that those behind the scenes were looking to tie Glen Kamara down on fresh terms.  

How many goals has Defoe scored this season? 

Clearly, at almost 40, Defoe simply cannot play every week but has managed to score 6 goals in 18 games across all competitions so far. 

Since moving to Glasgow in January 2019, Defoe has scored 9 game-winning goals in his 70 games for the club, so has certainly made an impact during their march back to the top of Scottish football, even if he's not leading the line on a weekly basis. 

According to WhoScored data too, he takes much fewer shots per game on average (1.3) than most of the attacking cast in Steven Gerrard's side, so clearly remains an effective finisher when given a chance. 

Could Defoe move into a coaching role? 

Back in the summer of 2020, Defoe revealed he was planning on taking a course to get his coaching badges but was still unsure of what the future holds for him in that regard. 

“I’m doing my coaching badges at the moment because, at the back end of your career, you’ll always think about what you want to do next, whether it’s becoming a coach or a manager," he told Football FanCast.

"I’m just going to do my badges and then see what happens."

What has Steven Gerrard said about Defoe's future? 

Speaking at mental health initiative organised by Rangers' sponsor, Gerrard did admit there were talks but stressed the club will respect whatever decision the striker wants to make at this stage in his career. 

“He’s a top professional and has proved that here," he said (via The Sun). 

"We’re in talks with him at the moment about what’s next for Jermain.

“But we want to be really respectful, we want to give him the time to make his own decisions.

“He’s at a stage in his life where we’ll listen to him and see what he wants to do moving forward.

“I don’t think it’s right for me to divulge right now what’s been said from my point of view and from his.

“But we’ll certainly respect Jermain in terms of his own decisions moving forward.”