BLACKBURN boss Graeme Souness today said he's confident he can clinch the signing of Lorenzo Amoruso next week.

The Rangers defender recently returned to Italy to think over a move to Ewood Park after the Glasgow giants accepted Rovers' £1.4 million offer.

Amoruso claimed Manchester United and Arsenal were also ready to join the race for his services.

But I can reveal that representatives working on behalf of the player have since contacted Rovers to say he's ready to sign a contract with them.

And Souness intends to act quickly by jetting out to Italy next week, if necessary, in order to secure the signature of his number one summer target.

"I'm hoping to meet the player next week," said Souness, speaking exclusively to the Lancashire Evening Telegraph.

"The situation is we have an agreement with Rangers and it's now a case of sorting things out with the player.

"I've had a couple of phone conversations with his people in the last few days and everything seems to be on track.

"He didn't want to rush into things straight after the season finished which is perfectly understandable.

"But my plan is to meet with him next week, either over here or in Italy, and I'm quietly confident he will be playing for us next season."

Souness has made no secret of his desire to land Amoruso after identifying him as his top summer target.

Ideally, he would also like to land Aston Villa's Turkish international Alpay as well and pair them together in a new-look defensive unit, although financial restraints could ultimately prevent that from happening.

However, securing the signature of Amoruso would still represent a major piece in the jigsaw as Souness formulates his plans for next season.

Rovers already have an agreement in place to sign rookie keeper David Yelldell from German part-timers Stuttgart Kickers.

And Souness could soon be in a position to unveil his second signing of the summer if talks with the 31-year-old go according to plan.

Rangers are resigned to losing him because they can't afford to offer him a new deal so manager Alex McLeish has decided to cash in now rather than run the risk of losing him for free when his current contract runs out in 12 months' time.