Walter Smith has hinted that Maurice Edu will make his Rangers debut in Sunday�s Old Firm derby at Celtic Park.

Walter Smith has hinted that Maurice Edu will make his Rangers debut in Sunday's Old Firm derby at Celtic Park.

The American international midfielder was granted a work permit on Friday and is expected to return to Glasgow today after a transatlantic flight to Toronto to collect a working visa from the UK Embassy.

The 22-year-old is Rangers' latest signing of the summer, joining in a £2.5m deal from Toronto FC, and is expected to be included as a substitute. Smith has no concerns over the American's readiness to perform in the frenetic atmosphere of a Glasgow derby.

"We have to wait and see if we get him over on time," said Smith. "The good thing is that he has been playing regularly and travelling around the world regularly with the US national team.

"When I first met him, he came across as one of these boys who would not be fazed by a great deal. He seems quite a confident lad. If we can get him over in good time then I have no doubt that he would be involved on Sunday at some stage."

As Edu prepared to fly back to Glasgow, he explained his motivation for leaving Major League Soccer in favour of the Clydesdale Bank Premier League. "I'm eager to become a better player and that was a big part of my motivation to join Rangers," he said. "I want to polish my skills and sharpen up my whole game. My ambition is to become an even better player and I feel I can do that in Scotland."

If he does make his debut at Celtic Park, Edu is confident of handling the physical demands of the first Old Firm derby of the season. "I know the league there is pretty physical, but I'm ready for that," he said. "There will be games that will be more rugged and I'll have to be up for the battle. Then there will be games where we can play more open football.

"I can play either way, whether it's breaking up play and being a hard man in midfield, or whether it's moving the ball around and playing more creatively."

The expected return of Kyle Lafferty will add to the Rangers manager's selection dilemma. Lafferty has played wide on the left since his £3.4m transfer from Burnley and could be one of five Old Firm debutants in the visitors' squad if he recovers from the hamstring strain sustained against Hearts at Ibrox. Madjid Bougherra, Edu, Pedro Mendes and Andrius Velicka are also in contention to play a part.

"I think he will be fit," Smith said of Lafferty's prospects. "He only just missed out on being involved at Aberdeen so after a few days on the training ground we would be hopeful of having him for this weekend."

Martin Bain, the Rangers chief executive, will attempt to cultivate interest in Rangers' first-team surplus between now and Monday's transfer deadline. Daniel Cousin, Jean-Claude Darcheville, Alan Gow, Brahim Hemdani and Graeme Smith are all available but Sir David Murray, the Rangers chairman, is unwilling to write severance cheques to remove them from the wage bill.