STRIKER Jermain Defoe admitted he would like to stay at loan club Rangers next season.

The former England international agreed an 18-month loan deal to Ibrox from Vitality Stadium in January.

Defoe's Cherries contract expires in 2020, which aligns with the proposed conclusion of the loan at Rangers.

And the former West Ham, Portsmouth and Tottenham star, who has scored 12 goals in 14 games for the Scottish giants this season, said he would like to remain with Steven Gerrard’s men beyond his current terms.

He told Sky Sports: “I speak to the manager (Gerrard) all the time. He’s just basically said to me ‘I’m delighted with how you’re playing but not just that. With how you are around the place with the younger lads’.

“Hopefully we can be successful together this season and next season. Hopefully at some point something will happen. I want to stay.”

He added: “As a young kid I used to watch Ally McCoist with all his goals and stuff like that.

“When I signed the manager sent me a message: ‘What number do you want? Nine or 10?’.

“I said number nine, he said ‘yeah I thought so’. It’s a special football club to wear that shirt and score goals.”