by Darrell King RANGERS were today pressing ahead with their move for Lens striker Daniel Cousin. Walter Smith would take his summer spending to more than £8.5m after landing Steven Whittaker from Hibs in a £2m deal. Smith wants to strengthen up front and the 6ft 3in Cousin is in mind. As revealed in SportTimes on July 6, Rangers stepped up initial interest in the 23-year-old Whittaker and he agreed a five-year contract to become Gers' ninth acquisition. advertisementCousin could become No.10 with talks on-going between Lens and Rangers today over the fee, which will be around £1m. The 30-year-old's agent, Willie McKay, hopes to get the green light to bring his client to Scotland tonight or tomorrow to complete a deal. "Daniel wants to come to Rangers and has let Lens know that. Negotiations are on-going at the moment as we are waiting," McKay said. Whittaker, meantime, will have to wait until August 11 for his debut as he is suspended for the SPL opener at Inverness on Saturday and ineligible for Gers return Champions League tie against Zeta next Tuesday. He trained with his new team-mates at Murray Park today and revealed: "I tried to stay clear of speculation linking me to Rangers and just left it to my agent. "I got the call on Tuesday night that I was to go through for my medical and I was thrilled. "It didn't take me long to decide on a move to Rangers. "I was at Hibs for seven years and started my career there. They were the ones who gave me my opportunity and I really enjoyed it there." Whittaker can play both right-back and right midfield, but knows there will be a fierce battle for starting berths. He added: "When I first broke into the Hibs team it was in midfield, then I reverted to full-back. I can play both positions and I'm quite adaptable. "There are a lot of good players here on the right side and there will be good, healthy competition. I feel I attack better than I defend. I would say going forward is the strongest point of my game. "But there are a lot of things I need to work on and develop. I hope to do that under Walter." Meantime, Nacho Novo's agent was at Murray Park for discussions with chief executive Martin Bain over the Spaniard's future. Novo is into the final season of a four-year contract, and it is believed intial talks have opened on an extension. The player is a doubt for Inverness after he limped off against Zeta and went for a scan on his left foot. Publication date 02/08/07