JACK Simpson admitted he is “honoured” to join Rangers but said his move “came out of nowhere”.

Weymouth-born Simpson, 24, will wear the number four shirt for Steven Gerrard’s Gers after leaving Bournemouth on transfer deadline day.

Signing for four and a half years, Simpson’s deal cost an undisclosed sum.

His switch comes after Cardiff City had a bid of £750,000 accepted, before the Cherries’ academy graduate signed a pre-contract deal at Ibrox.

And Rangers were able to bring the deal forward, meaning Simpson could make his debut in tonight’s clash with St Johnstone (7.45pm).

He told RangersTV: “I am super excited to be here. This is a massive club and I am honoured to be a part of it. I can’t wait to pull on the shirt, and play in front of the fans and at the stadium.

“It is obvious how big this club is – it’s one of the most successful clubs in World football so I am delighted to be here.

“It is going to be a huge challenge to keep up with everything that has happened and to keep pushing myself to stay at the standards that are expected here.

“That is very important to me and I am excited to try and do that.

“At first, I was just a bit surprised. It came out of nowhere really and I was just really excited.

“After speaking to the gaffer and the coaching staff, I just wanted it done really – I just wanted to get here as quickly as possible, get playing and meet all the lads and get training.

“It is very exciting to hopefully learn from these players, the gaffer and hopefully improve my game and learn things from them.

“I will be very lucky to play alongside them and I can’t wait.”

Simpson is hoping to draw on his Premier League experience as he targets European football in Scotland.

“Hopefully it will prepare me for the speed and the physicality of the Scottish Premiership, the Europa League and the cup competitions,” he added.

“Everyone knows the Premier League is a very quick, fast league and hopefully we can use that as an experience to help myself push here and do well.

“I’ve been here not very long, but you can see it is just a ‘next game up’ mentality. We are just focused on the next game and improving as a team and winning football matches.

“You can see a real plan and a real focus of everyone here to achieve the same thing and it is exciting to see.”

He said: “It would be massive. It was a big lure to come here and play European football – you dream of doing that as a kid and to be able to do that is something I have always dreamed about.

“I would be delighted really if I got the opportunity to do that. Hopefully I will and hopefully I can help the team.”

“The same as Europe, it would just be a dream come true to play in front of that many fans.

“I have heard a lot of things about the fanbase here and how incredible they are. I am excited to hopefully eventually get to play in front of them – I can’t wait.”