Glen Kamara must be rewarded for fine form, says Steven Gerrard
The Rangers boss is keen for the midfielder to be given an improved contract
Steven Gerrard believes it will not be long before Rangers reward Glen Kamara with a new deal as he insisted he does not want to see his unbeaten Ibrox line-up broken up early.
For the second time in three months, the Ibrox boss has urged the Gers board to secure the Finland midfielder after his latest sublime display in the Europa League against Lech Poznan.
Juventus, Everton and Leeds are reportedly keeping tabs on the bargain buy from Dundee and Gerrard is keen to tie him down on a longer contract than his current one, which expires in 2023.
He said: "It's my job to advise when I think people deserve to be rewarded.
"It's my job to advise when I predict there is a lot of noise around a certain individual and obviously to try to protect the club, the team and everyone from a situation where we could lose one of our best players.
"That's the reason why I said last night that we need to try to move his personal situation forward. The board are aware of it, they are on the same page, and I think it will only be a matter of time. But basically that is my job and that's what I did.''
Gerrard, who shot down rumours of a move for Chelsea's Billy Gilmour but confirmed the Light Blues are interested in Colombian youngster Juan Alegria, added: "Is it a case of rewarding Glen? Yeah I think so and also to send a message that we're trying to build a team here.
"Everyone is working ever so hard to move the team forward. I think the last thing we need now is to lose a big part of that jigsaw.
"Glen has been absolutely sensational since he came in and it's not just about what you've got left on your contract, it's about what you deserve. It's about protecting yourself from the future and what could possibly happen.
"Glen is happy, he's enjoying his football, he's happy here. For me it's the right thing to do.''
On Gilmour, who started his career in the Ibrox academy, the former England skipper said: "There is always a lot of paper talk and a lot of speculation about a lot of players.
"From what I see from afar, I think Billy Gilmour is pretty settled at Chelsea. He has obviously had an injury. Every time I listen to Frank (Lampard) he is really happy with the player.
"He's a fabulous little player but there has been no contact between the clubs or the managers. I know Frank extremely well and I know his coaching staff extremely well. I think that's just people putting two and two together and looking for stories.
"There is nothing in it from our side but what I will say is that he is a fabulous little player and we wish him well.
"The Alegria one is slightly different. We are well aware of the player and his talent.
"We are always looking to recruit right through the club. This is something the academy has had a closer eye on than myself but we are very much aware of the boy.
"There is something in that one but there is nothing to report on it as of yet.''