Former Rangers ace Michael Ball says that Steven Gerrard deserves the trust to buy players such as Joey Veerman in the summer transfer window following the success of the Ryan Kent deal.

The Scottish champions have been heavily linked with a move to sign the Heerenveen captain this summer.

One of Veerman’s team-mates, Henk Veerman, believes that his namesake will make the move to one of the clubs interested in him, touting Rangers as a possible destination in an interview with Voetbalprimeur, as transcribed by The Daily Record.

Veerman enjoyed a superb season in the Eredivisie, scoring seven goals and laying on 10 assists from defensive midfield.

It remains to be seen if Rangers will be able to bring the 22-year-old to Scotland but Ball believes that Gerrard deserves to be backed after the success of the Kent deal.

Indeed, Kent arrived for a £7.5m fee from Liverpool, despite only making one senior appearance for the Reds, and he has gone on to become a star at Ibrox, making 128 appearances on the left wing.

Asked if the Rangers board would deliver if Gerrard said he wanted Veerman, Ball told The Transfer Tavern:“If you’d asked me that question two or three years ago I probably would have said no.

“But I feel the Ryan Kent deal, that they trusted Steven, and that was a lot of money. Rangers at that time, I don’t think many people realised Rangers had that money to get that deal done and that’s worked and that’s a big bonus for Steven and his ability to spot players.”