STEVEN DAVIS today finally sealed a £3million return to Rangers - and admitted he never gave up hope of a permanent move to Ibrox.

The 23-year-old Northern Ireland inter-nationalist secured his transfer from Fulham after months of protracted negotiations between the clubs.

Davis, who impressed during a six-month loan spell last season, was at Murray Park this morning to undergo a medical before signing a four-year deal with his boyhood heroes.

And he said: "It's taken a bit of time, but I never gave up on the move coming off and I am delighted to be at Rangers now. I really enjoyed the loan spell and I want to play my part in hopefully helping the club to success."

Walter Smith has been desperate to land the player, as Fulham rejected two previous offers and tried to hold out for £4million. But Rangers have managed to land him for £1m less than the Premiership side's original asking price, beating off interest from Wigan, Newcastle and Blackburn.

Davis will now go straight into the squad for Saturday's trip to Aberdeen, and form a new-look midfield alongside Pedro Mendes and Kevin Thomson.

His arrival has also thrilled international team-mate Kyle Lafferty, who will now team-up at club level with the man he has played alongside in the colours of Northern Ireland.

Lafferty was injured last night and missed the Scotland game, but today he said of Davis's capture: "He is a fantastic player with a terrific engine. He has produced it at the very top level in the Premiership, and also on the international stage he has been very consistent with Northern Ireland."

This latest piece of business now takes Rangers' summer spending now to around £18m - although that has been offset by the £9m departures of Carlos Cuellar and Filip Sebo.

Maurice Edu and DaMarcus Beasley came off the bench for the US national side in their 1-0 World Cup win in Guatemala.

Beasley set up Carlos Bocanegra for the only goal of the game and looked sharp. Edu has now travelled back to Toronto to take care of some personal matters, while Rangers will discover the outcome of his work permit application tomorrow.

If, as Rangers hope, it's granted without any problems, the £2.7m capture will arrive early in Glasgow next week and go straight into the squad for the first Old Firm game of the season on August 31.