RANGERS were today urged to move for former Scotland Under-21 starlet Scott Arfield before he is snapped up by an SPL club.

The Ibrox club has been linked with an attempt to land the midfielder after he was released by Championship club Huddersfield Town.

The 24-year-old spent three seasons at the Terriers before falling out of the first team towards the end of the 2012-13 campaign.

The ex-Falkirk player, who cost £400,000 back in 2010, is available for free and Gers are believed to be interested.

Veteran manager Alex Smith worked with Arfield towards the end of his successful spell at the Bairns and rates him highly.

Smith believes he'd be a shrewd acquisition for Ally McCoist – and has urged him not to hang about if he is interested.

"I don't think there's any doubt at all that Scott would be a great signing for Rangers," he said.

"Before I arrived at Falkirk he had already been in John Hughes's team for a couple of years, had played in the SPL and had helped them reach the Scottish Cup final.

"He had also played for the Scotland Under-21 side and had done well and held onto his place. Potentially, he was a Scotland player of the future.

"Scott is hard working, is a good passer of the ball, is a great trainer and is a nice lad as well. But on the pitch, where it really matters, he always produced.

"He enjoyed his time at Falkirk. He was in the team that was relegated on goal difference by Kilmarnock on the final day of the 2009/10 season.

"But that didn't have anything to do with him. Ultimately, the team as a whole didn't get enough points. A lot of good players are in teams that go down.

"To be honest, he showed tremendous character not to be affected by that experience. He handled it admirably and moved on in his career."

Smith added: "Scott played 100 games for Falkirk and he almost hit 100 games for Huddersfield Town. That is nearly 200 games of senior football he has played.

"Then you have the games he has played for the U-21 team. He is only 24, but he has got enormous experience in the game.

"Given where Rangers are now I would think going in for Scott would be a no-brainer. I think he would respond to the pressure that would be on him to perform at a club like Rangers.

"He would certainly be more than capable of performing in the Second Division and would not be at all daunted about playing in front of the huge crowds of 45,000 that Rangers attract."

The Ibrox club are not the only club rumoured to be monitoring Arfield's situation this summer.

Ross County, St Mirren and St Johnstone are all believed to be keen to get the box-to-box midfielder on their books before the new season kicks off.

Elsewhere, Coventry City boss Steven Pressley, who managed Arfield when he was in charge at Falkirk, is also an admirer of the Livingston-born player.

Smith added "To be honest, I'm surprised that more SPL clubs aren't being linked with him.

"I am sure there will be clubs stepping up their interest in Scott in the days and weeks to come and it will be interesting to see where he ends up."