Tuur de force

Left-back legend Numan says new Ibrox hero Rommens will give a support down in the dumps something to cheer about in near future

- BY ANDY NEWPORT

ARTHUR NUMAN has had his eye on Rangers new boy Tuur Rommens for a while.

Peering into the future, the Ibrox legend can only see the powerhouse stopper getting better and better.

The mystic megs in Govan may not be predicting such a positive outlook for the coming weeks after Rangers' deflating derby doubleheader with Celtic.

But Numan's scouting foresight tells him his old side are on the right track with their new left-back.

The Dutchman, the winner of 10 trophies in five years in Scotland, now works for AZ Alkmaar's recruitment team in the Eredivisie.

It was in that role the 56-year-old first saw the Belgian lace up his boots for Westerlo.

On Numan's recommendation, Alkmaar considered making a move themselves but, while they opted to go elsewhere, Numan is glad it was Rangers who won the race for the £3.3million fullback's signature.

He said: "In the last couple of years we have found some good players for AZ. We had Milos Kerkez, who's now playing for Liverpool.

"He was 19 when we scouted him with AC Milan's Under-19s.

"After Kerkes, we went for David Moller Wolfe, who went to Wolves last year and is playing in the Norway side.

"So you can see the players who come to AZ, they develop, they're doing well.

"Now we have another player, Mateo Chavez... a young promising player from Mexico who's also with the national team. Hopefully he can make it.

"But Tuur is a player I also know well because I did some scouting on him when he was in Belgium.