They tried to get Andrea Caracciolo from Sampdoria in January but he decided to knock them back to join Serie B outfit Brescia.

Smith also has a background in the Italian market having signed the likes of Rino Gattuso, Sergio Porrini, Lorenzo Amoruso and Marco Negri.

Rangers are also actively looking for another striker with Northern Ireland’s Kyle Lafferty on their radar but that is unlikely to happen unless Burnley drop their £5 million asking price.

Former frontman Kenny Miller, currently at Derby, is another fall-back option should Smith fail to land his top targets but he knows that move would prove unpopular with his own supporters, while West Ham United’s Marlon Harewood has also been linked.

Smith is also looking to strengthen his defensive options and will make a £800,000 move for Mark Reynolds over the coming weeks.