Is Gerrard returning? And is he what Rangers need?

This is the crucial question that some more romantic Rangers fans may overlook in favour of dwelling on past success.

Gerrard’s trophy ratio at Ibrox was one from a possible nine before he departed for Aston Villa. The one was seismic, though, stopping Celtic from becoming the first Scottish club to claim 10 titles in a row.

That triumph endeared the former Liverpool captain to a large swathe of the support for eternity in itself.

And the fact he’s box office on a global scale – and spent the latter part of his career with LA Galaxy in the United States – will presumably also be eye-catching to the prospective new American owners.

However, in the cold light of day, Gerrard’s Ibrox trophy rate would not be an acceptable second time round.

And his record at Villa and, most recently, at Al-Ettifaq in the Saudi Pro League, makes far from convincing reading.

Furthermore, the one thing that seemed to prompt his departure from Ibrox – outside the lure of an English Premier League position – was the idea that he wasn’t backed to the extent he wanted after delivering the Premiership title.

The quote in the immediate aftermath of that was “we have to fix the roof now the sun is shining”.

Rangers didn’t, or couldn’t, and Gerrard was gone as Celtic re-asserted their grip on domestic silverware.

If re-appointed, it would seem he would have backing under the new ownership but questions would remain if that would be enough, and he would be the right candidate, to reel in all-conquering Celtic.