Just like previous generations of young, black Americans, Maurice Edu had a dream. His inspiration, however, was not Martin Luther King but Roy Keane. That is not something for any new Rangers signing to boast about but Edu displayed a politician’s smoothness yesterday that even Barack Obama would admire as he explained his confession.

Perhaps it is because the 22-year-old has already been schooled in the ways of the Old Firm by the most controversial figure in the history of Glasgow’s eternal duel, Maurice Johnston, that he responded so swiftly after naming Keane as his hero. The Irishman, of course, enjoyed Old Firm derby success in his cameo spell with Celtic in 2006. “I just liked him when he was at Manchester United,” Edu said.

There is no point on getting off on the wrong foot. Walter Smith’s £2.7 million acquisition from Toronto FC admitted that Johnston who was his coach last season at Toronto and is now general manager of the Major League Soccer club had given him an Old Firm crash course. The former Scotland striker wore the colours of both clubs two decades ago and was loved and loathed in equal measure by each set of supporters.

The original ‘Mo’ recommended the new ‘Mo’ to Smith and if the Rangers manager believes he has bought himself a box-to-box ballwinner, Edu has no doubt where the seeds of that desire were sown watching on television 7,000 miles away in California as Keane and Patrick Vieira squared up to each other during United-Arsenal encounters.

“I like hard men and Roy Keane is not the sort of guy to shy away from anything,” Edu said yesterday, after his first training session with his new colleagues just hours after stepping off a plane from Toronto. “Keane’s presence on the field was great. He stood up to people and set the tone for his team. I also liked Vieira. He was another hard man but he was versatile because he liked to win tackles and then create things going forward. I would say I am quieter than both of them. I don’t get too caught up. I like my play to speak for itself.”

The United States midfield player knows he would have the entire football world talking about him if makes an impact on his debut tomorrow at Celtic Park. Edu’s move to Rangers has heightened interest in the Clydesdale Bank Premier League beyond the normal pockets of expatriate Scottish and Irish communities in the US.

His parents, Maurice and Molly, will have to get up in the middle of the night at their home in Fontana to watch their son make his bow in the lunchtime kick-off of Glasgow’s first derby of the season because of a time difference of seven hours.

“I don’t know if they’ll watch it on television or the internet, but they will find a way. Everyone in my family and people in US football in general are very excited for me. They all know that this is what I have wanted to do my whole life. Coming to Europe is what kids who play football in America dream of. This is a great opportunity in front of me and I want to take it.”

Edu was perhaps fortunate that he cut his teeth in a real football town in Toronto. The Canadian city, home to thousands of Scots, is the only place in the MLS where every game is a sell-out. Toronto FC have 20,000 season ticket-holders, despite the side being rooted to the bottom of the table, and with Celtic and Rangers having both visited the city in recent years, the Old Firm have long been on Edu’s radar.

“I have known about Rangers and Celtic for a while,” he said. “We are pretty much in the loop in the US about what happens in Europe and Canadians follow the Old Firm. Mo Johnston gave me a little bit of the low-down about the expectations here when I went back to the club to pick up my things earlier this week. He told me to try and enjoy the experience and soak up the atmosphere.

“I think every player would love to play in a game like this. I have played in front of some big crowds, such as 70,000 when the US played Argentina, and we have a big rivalry with Mexico, but I don’t think any of those experiences will come close to this.

“Everyone at home has ambitions of playing in Europe. The MLS is good for a lot of people to get their feet wet and then move on. Maybe there are others who want to stay there but there are far more young guys like myself who want to move abroad. The Scottish Premier League is something I will be up for. I know it will be gritty, with tackles flying in but I will not shy away from that, I will be prepared.”

Smith admitted yesterday that he is likely to keep Edu on the bench after the hectic globetrekking the American has indulged in over the past month flying to Beijing to play in the Olympics and then back to Toronto (twice) before a World Cup trip to Guatemala. “I don’t think it is realistic to talk about him starting the game,” Smith said. “I will see how he is after our training session on Saturday.”

* Jean-Claude Darcheville, the Rangers striker, is set to sign for AEK Athens, according to reports from Greece last night.