Maurice Edu with fellow Rangers Chris Burke and Kyle Lafferty at Yorkshire Hospital in Glasgow.   Good stuff!

Image via Kickette

While it may not be “Toronto FC midfielder” anymore, it’s still sick to see one of our own behind the scenes of a game that’s payed such a huge part in our lives.

With Maurice Edu looking set to make his Rangers debut against Celtic in the storied Old Firm rivalry, our boy Graig wrote a nice piece about what this rivalry means. Dunny can tell you first hand about his experiences over there and how there is no other game like this in the world. Head here to check out the article.

The 2.7 Million Pound man has finally landed in Glasgow and despite all the delays, Maurice Edu chances of featuring in this weekends Old Firm match against Glasgow Celtic are still significantly high.

And with Barry Ferguson and Gary Naismith out with injuries for significant amounts of time, Edu’s chances of forming a serious midfield partnership at Parkhead with newly signed Pedro Mendes seem that much greater.

From Toronto to Hong Kong to Beijing to Glasgow to Guatemala to Toronto to Glasgow….  That’s one hell of an impressive month.

image via EveningTimes

UPDATE -  Maurice Edu is officially a Glasgow Ranger after the hearing panel in Hampden took just over an hour to grant him his Work Permit and seal his 2.7 Million Pound switch.

And the first game he’ll be eligible to play in, The Old Firm Match on August 31st at Parkhead (Celtic).  Wow.

I was lucky enough to train with Rangers back in 1997 for three months and I can tell you first hand as I was able to see two Old Firm matches at Ibrox (Rangers) and one at Parkhead, it’s one of the craziest games you’ll ever see up close.

Toronto FC’s Coach / GM / Director of Football / Trade Maestro Mo Johnston has a great interview over at the Evening Times of Glasgow about everything that IS Maurice Edu.

From his time at Maryland, the MLS Combine, MLS Draft, MLS Rookie of the Year, Olympic Team Qualification, Full National Team call ups, Olympics to his 2.7 Million Pound Transfer that is only held up as of now by a Work Permit, the former Celtic and Ranger man quotes it all.

And yes, that Five Year Deal is something that proves that Ranger’s boss man Walter Smith is very high on the Inland Empire (909) product.

Imagine a midfield of Barry Ferguson, Pedro Mendes, DaMarcus Beasley and Maurice Edu. Won’t have to much longer.

Toronto FC is preparing for life without Maurice Edu, but losing him may help the club install real grass at BMO Field.

Seriously, this is such a no-brainer….

Image via Tinypic

We already hipped you to some pre release excitment about FIFA 2009.  Now I just found out that our boy Maurice Edu will be gracing the cover of the legendary game for its North American release. According to The Canadian Press, Edu, Ronaldinho and Guillermo Ochoa will all share the coveted cover. Big ups to Maurice on landing this.

After two qualifying games for the 2008 Olympics, a couple things seem clear to me. Stuart Holden should be starting, Jozy needs more support so he is not so isolated and we have a very deep team this time around. What I have also noticed is that Freddy Adu and Maurice Edu have both impressed, although in very different ways.

Freddy has been looking very dangerous and it is obvious that the ball needs to go through him if the young Americans are to have success. On the defensive end, Maurice Edu has impressed as well, but his has been much more subtle. His ability to break up plays, defend 1 v 1, organize from the back and keep a calm head have all been very influential for the team. Could he eventually be our most consistent and impressive defender?

So this has got me thinking. If you were in Peter Nowak’s position, who would be the first name on your team sheet, Freddy or Maurice? They both bring an awful lot to the team and their inclusion in the squad is a no brainer. But the questions is, who would you choose first?If you could only choose one, who one would you choose? Let us know your thoughts.