DARRYL BROADFOOT and GRAEME MACPHERSON
Rangers have been offered Soren Larsen, the Danish international striker, as a potential replacement for Daniel Cousin.
Larsen is available for £1.4m from the German side, Schalke 04, and his agent, Ivan Marko Benes, met with Rangers chief executive Martin Bain yesterday to discuss a possible move for the 6ft 4in centre-forward.
Rangers have also been linked with a move for the Hearts goalkeeper, Steve Banks, after Derby County reached agreement to take Roy Carroll to Pride Park.
Paul Jewell, the Derby manager, had hoped to have the Northern Ireland goalkeeper at training this morning, but Walter Smith was only willing to sanction the transfer if he had another back-up to Allan McGregor in place.
"The chairman has spoken to his agent and Walter Smith and hopefully we can get that one over the line today or tomorrow," said Jewell. "If he comes, Roy Carroll is a top-class goalkeeper."
Banks has reclaimed his first-choice status at Tynecastle after the recent failed experiments with Eduardo Kurskis and Anthony Basso.
Hearts caretaker manager Steven Frail is reluctant to lose the Englishman, who also doubles as goalkeeping coach, but moving to Rangers would be more lucrative for him.
Benes left Bain with a DVD of Larsen's scoring feats for club and country in an attempt to expedite a deal. Rangers are in the market for a centre-forward regardless of Cousin's future but while no deal is imminent, Larsen fits the bill.
He scored six goals in his five international matches for Denmark two years ago and has been nicknamed Die Waffe - The Weapon - for his prowess alongside his countryman and former Rangers attacker, Peter Lovenkrands, in the Bundesliga. He has scored 17 goals in 55 starts but wants a new challenge.
He would cost around £1m per year in wages but his physical prowess is ideally suited to the rigours of the Clydesdale Bank Premier League. Eintracht Frankfurt, Wolfsburg and FC Copenhagen have already enquired about the 26-year-old - who was linked with a move to Celtic in August 2006 - but Larsen has no intention of returning home to Denmark.
Smith was at the Emirates Stadium last night on a scouting mission at the Carling Cup semi-final between Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspur.
Bolton and Middlesbrough have been alerted to Cousin's situation. Rangers are confident they can keep the striker, who signed a three-year deal in August, at least until the end of the season but may find a bid of around £3m irresistible.
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