Manager Steven Gerrard obviously believes they can, with his recruitment of 36-year-old striker Defoe and 34-year-old midfielder Davis designed to help the Ibrox club win the Scottish Premiership.

But why have Bournemouth and Southampton allowed the duo to leave on loan? Is it because neither have been contributing at the same levels as before?

BBC Scotland takes a look at the stats in an attempt to decipher what exactly Rangers will be getting from the English Premier League duo.

Has age blunted Defoe?

At 36 years of age, it's only natural to question whether Defoe can still score like he used to. But his stats over the past two-and-a-half seasons suggest he perhaps still can.

Defoe's average shots per game this season stands at an impressive 3.19 - far better than the 2.1 he averaged last season or the 2.32 in the campaign prior to that with Sunderland.

Of those 3.19 shots per game, around 50% are on target. And while that is slightly lower than last season's 55%, it is an improvement on the 35% he averaged in the 2016/17 season.

What is perhaps most impressive is that the goals Defoe was expected to score this season - based on chances he has had - stands at 0.58 per 90 minutes. That is higher than the 0.4 and 0.39 he averaged in the previous two campaigns.

Of course, the 254 minutes he has played for Bournemouth this term is a small sample size, but the stats suggest he still looks as sharp as ever - even if he has not scored in his eight appearances.

Is Davis still creating chances?

Davis is a little younger, at 34, but finds himself in similar circumstances to Defoe. Like the former England striker, Davis was a regular in the English top flight with Southampton last season but has found himself surplus to requirements - even if his stats suggest he has still played at a high level when called upon.

Although the midfielder has only played around 200 minutes of football this term, his 1.45 through balls per 90 minutes is not far off last season's 1.67 and above the 1.24 he averaged the campaign before.

Similarly, Davis has averaged 3.61 passes into the box per 90 minutes, which is actually better than the 2.35 and 3.12 in 2016/17 and 2017/18 respectively.

The Northern Ireland captain's key passes - ones that set up a shot for a team-mate - continue to rise over the past three years, from 0.95 per 90 minutes in 2016/17, to 1.17 last season, then 2.17 this term.

Like Defoe, Davis has not played enough this season to draw a proper conclusion, but in both cases neither have shown a significant drop off in contribution when called upon.