Brendan Rodgers
EDINBURGH, SCOTLAND - APRIL 02: Brendan Rodgers manager of Celtic shows appreciation to the fans after winning the league title after beating Hearts 5-0 during the Ladbrokes Scottish Premiership match between Hearts and Celtic at Tynecastle Stadium on April 2, 2017 in Edinburgh, Scotland. (Photo by Ian MacNicol/Getty Images)
Former Rangers manager Steven Gerrard has revealed that ex-Celtic boss Brendan Rodgers prevented him from signing two highly-rated Leicester City youngsters during his time at Ibrox.
Gerrard was keen to bring Harvey Barnes and Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall to Glasgow on loan after being impressed by their performances for Leicester’s Under-23 side.
However, with Rodgers in charge of the Foxes at the time, Gerrard believes the former Celtic manager’s connections to the Hoops ultimately worked against Rangers’ chances of securing either player.
Speaking on The Overlap, Gerrard explained how both youngsters caught his attention during a friendly at Ibrox.
He said of Dewsbury-Hall: “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 manager at the time, and I just… yeah, that was probably the reason. Yeah, but I would have took them, I would have took both of them on loan in a flash.
“I think this is the key as to why he’s just missed out [on the England squad]. We wanted him to be a running eight. We played with two eights that liked to get into the box, we seen him as that left-sided one, or sometimes on the right, getting the ball back and putting half-space crosses in.
“So we seen him in a few different roles that we wanted him in our team for, but I think David Moyes has given him a little bit more freedom and license to run.”
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