IF Cedric Itten wasn’t going to be pulling on the red and white of AZ, wearing blue was the next best thing that Arthur Numan could have hoped for.

The Swiss striker was a virtual unknown in Glasgow before he joined Steven Gerrard’s side last month but former Ibrox hero Numan knew exactly what Rangers were getting for their money.

Itten was one of the forwards that Numan was sent to scout for Alkmaar last term as he made his name with St Gallen.

And the Dutchman is confident he can make a significant impact as part of Gerrard’s attacking line.

“It was quite funny,” Numan told the Four Lads Had A Dream podcast. “Some of the scouts from Holland said to me ‘Arthur, did you give all your information about him to Rangers because he signed there?’

“I saw him twice because we are always looking for good players and he was one of the players who was on our list. Then I saw that he had signed for Rangers. He is a player with a very good mentality, for 90 minutes he gives 100 per cent for the jersey and that is what the supporters want to see.

“Last year he was quite successful, he scored a lot of goals and he made his debut for the national team. He only played two games but he scored three goals.

“Maybe Rangers think that Alfredo Morelos will sign for another club so they needed to sign a striker. If he settles and knows what it means when you go and sign for Rangers… You need to play for the jersey.

“Hopefully the supporters will get to watch the games in the next couple of months and he will realise that he has signed for a fantastic club.”

Itten has just over an hour of football to his credit at Rangers after coming off the bench against St Mirren, St Johnstone and Livingston.

He arrived at Ibrox to less fanfare than fellow forward Kemar Roofe but he has a burgeoning reputation of his own to enhance this term.

Numan said: “Hopefully he can be a successful striker at a fantastic club. He made a good impact on me and I hope he does well for Rangers.

“He is dangerous around the box and also, with his height, he can be dangerous from crosses from the side. Around the box, he tries to find the space in the right positions.

“A lot of clubs were interested in him this season. He was playing for St Gallen along with another striker and they had a very good relationship together. The other one - Ermedin Demirović – he signed for Freiburg for £3million and of course Itten went to Rangers.

“He is dangerous in and around the box and will be, especially with the football that Rangers play under Steven Gerrard. I think he can be an interesting striker for the club.”

Itten’s efforts last season were enough to help St Gallen finish second in the Swiss Super League and earn him those international call-ups.

His third experience of Ibrox will come when Gerrard’s side host Kilmarnock on Saturday but the unique circumstances at present mean he has yet to fully feel the weight of expectation from a demanding home support.

“I signed for Rangers in 1998 and I had no idea about the club or the size of the club or what it meant to go to Scotland and play for Glasgow Rangers,” Numan said. “You can only experience it once you arrive there and then you think ‘wow, this is a big difference compared to Holland.

“In Holland football is very popular and you have big clubs – Ajax, Feyenoord, PSV. When you come to Scotland, it is a big step. The papers have pages every day about Rangers and Celtic.

“When you go to Ibrox, you walk through the main door and see the Marble Staircase and you think ‘wow, this is history.’ It is fantastic.

“I thought to myself ‘nice stadium, capacity of 50,000’. I am still surprised that in the five years I played for Rangers it was sold out all the time. The atmosphere was amazing.”

Such was the fondness that Numan had for his adopted homeland, he would remain in Scotland for seven years after he hung up his boots at the end of the 2003 Treble season.

Indeed, he still has business interests here after joining forces with Kris Boyd to run events and entertainment company 5 Stars Ltd.

Now based back in his homeland, the 50-year-old regularly hits the road in search of up-and-coming talents for AZ.

Numan said: “I travel a lot, quite often I go to Scandinavia to watch a lot of games there to try and find young players with potential. We are a small club and we always try to find players with potential that we buy and then can sell.

“It is good, I like watching games in the stadium but not on television. I can hardly watch for ten minutes and I get bored, but in the stadium I like the atmosphere and that is what I am doing for Alkmaar.”