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Steven Gerrard has made an interesting transfer admission about his time in charge of Rangers between 2018 and 2021.
The Englishman achieved success at Ibrox and guided the club to their 55th Scottish Premiership title.
He left to join Premier League outfit Aston Villa, and the Gers replaced him with Giovanni van Bronckhorst.
Gerrard has revealed that he tried to sign Harvey Barnes and Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall when they visited Ibrox for a friendly game. The former Rangers manager shared that Leicester’s Under-23s side took his team on in a behind-closed-doors fixture. He was impressed with the duo and then made enquiries about them.
He told Mark Allen, the then sporting director of the Gers, that he wanted to bring the two of them on loan. However, Brendan Rodgers was the one calling the shots at Leicester, and that did not materialise.
Speaking on The Overlap Daily, Gerrard said: “I did try and sign him on loan, I must say. He was a youngster at Leicester. We played Leicester’s Under-23s in an international break, the Rangers team, because we wanted to give minutes to the lads that were staying behind.
“So, we played Leicester’s Under-23s. They came up and we played them at Ibrox. I’m watching the game and I’m thinking to myself, “Who’s he? And who’s he?”
“So, I go to the team sheet: Harvey Barnes and Dewsbury-Hall. As soon as the game finished, I’m saying to Mark Allen, who was the sporting director at the time: ‘Can you get me them two on loan? Do whatever we need to do to get them on loan.’
“But unfortunately, Brendan Rodgers was the man, and I just… But I would have taken them, I would have taken both of them on loan in a flash.”
Both Barnes and Dewsbury-Hall have done well since Gerrard spotted them and have gone on to join bigger clubs. Barnes moved to Newcastle in 2023 for a £38m fee, while Dewsbury-Hall first joined Chelsea for £30m in 2024, and was then sold to Everton for £25m a year later.
Were they to be sold today, both would fetch higher fees, and they undoubtedly would have been stellar signings for the Gers. Hopefully, they have someone at the club who can identify such talents and bring them on loan and potentially on permanent transfers.