'What a story': Ex-Rangers hero says Ibrox talent 'head and shoulders above' as details of summer phone call revealed

The 18-year-old netted the crucial third goal in last weekend’s win as Rangers completed a remarkable second-half comeback to sink their fierce rivals 3-1 at Parkhead. Moore’s third goal since his arrival on a season-long loan from Tottenham Hotspur in the summer, Defoe admits it was ‘special’ to see the Spurs starlet score such a pivotal goal for his former side.

Part of the last Rangers team to win the Scottish Premiership in 2021, the 43-year-old played a key role as the Light Blues won the title without losing a single league game under Steven Gerrard. Retiring shortly afterwards, Defoe took on a coaching role with the North London side, where he worked alongside Moore during his time at the club’s academy.

"What a story that is," said Defoe. “When I finished playing, I did two years in the academy under-18s. I think he was about 16. As soon as I saw him in training, I thought, 'this kid's got something special'. And I just tried to work with him as much as possible. He was always the one that stood out for me. When we played games in under-18s, he was head and shoulders above all the other players that we played against.

“I got a phone call from him in the summer. He said, 'I've got a chance to go to Rangers'. I said, 'you've got to go, to get a chance to go and experience what I experienced there. Trust me, you'll love it'. It's amazing to see him scoring in this game and I'll text him in a bit. It's special - he must be delighted because he's just a young kid that just loves football. He'll be buzzing after this."

Speaking to Sky Sports earlier in the week, Moore himself said: “That was the best feeling I’ve had in football [scoring vs Celtic]. I think you can see from the celebration, and the celebrations of the team after the game. It was a bit of a head loss moment for me personally, but it was a great feeling.

“I made the most of it, as soon as the ball hit the net, I was just running - I wanted to celebrate with the fans, because it means so much to them. I was straight up to them, gave some people a big cuddle then I was straight back to the halfway line. When you come up here, scoring in that game is what people say to you straight away - ‘imagine scoring against Celtic, away at their ground’.

“I’m happy to be able to score in a game like that. It is one that’ll stay with me for the rest of my career, I think. I’m loving it. I couldn’t speak highly enough of the club itself, of the city and the people.”

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