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Rangers have agreed a loan deal for Bournemouth striker Jermain Defoe which will see the veteran striker move to Ibrox until the end of the 2019/20 season.

Defoe has made just four substitute appearances in the Premier League this season as Eddie Howe has placed his faith in a more youthful forward line. The 36-year-old's only starts came in the Carabao Cup.

Sky Sports News reports that Defoe will join Rangers on an 18-month loan deal. Bournemouth will have the option to recall Defoe either next summer or in January 2020.

With 191 league goals during spells at West Ham, Bournemouth (twice), Tottenham (twice), Portsmouth and Sunderland, Defoe is one of the top scorers in English football this century - only Billy Sharp, Rickie Lambert and Wayne Rooney have scored more during the same period.

This will be just his second venture outside of England, following a brief spell with MLS side Toronto in 2014. He scored 12 goals during his time in Canada.

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Given Defoe's wealth of experience, this move will be seen as a major coup for Rangers, who are challenging for the Scottish Premiership title this season, level on points with rivals Celtic at the top.

Steven Gerrard, who played alongside Defoe at international level, has used his knowledge of English football to great effect this season. Defoe will be his eleventh signing and his seventh from the Premier League or Championship.

Rangers are on their winter break at the moment, so Defoe could make his debut when the Gers take on Cowdenbeath in the Scottish Cup on 18 January.