John Souttar makes Leon Balogun Rangers contract claim
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"He is a senior figure in the changing room, along with James Tavernier, he's a great person to have and we need senior figures like him in the squad."
Balogun has played 28 times for Rangers this season. Although he is 36 years of age, his performances rarely fail to meet the required standard.
It remains to be seen whether the veteran's contract will be extended going into next season, with vast changes expected in Govan this summer.
Indeed, Davide Ancelotti, son of legendary Real Madrid manager Carlo, has been linked with the permanent Rangers hotseat over the past 24 hours.
Fulham winger Alex Iwobi spoke of Ancelotti Jr's influence when he was at Everton in 2019.
He told the Filthy Fellas podcast: "I remember when he first got appointed. Everyone was just eating lunch and he's walked in. Everyone's just chatting. As soon as he's walked in, everyone was silent. Everyone was just looking. That was mad.
"We'd heard about it (the appointment) but when he actually walks in, his presence was mental."
Asked how much he could learn from the 65-year-old, he made the revelation about the Rangers-linked younger boss.
He added: "He comes down and he watches training. He does have his say but it's more his son that does the talking, obviously he will have his input as well.
"If you watch the games, you'll see his son always chatting to him."
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