Celtic
Rangers lead ‘three-horse’ race for versatile £2.5m winger as Celtic target drops subtle transfer clue
Rangers lead ‘three-horse’ race for versatile £2.5m winger as Celtic target drops subtle transfer clue
All the latest Celtic and Rangers news and transfer rumours on Sunday…
Celtic claimed the derby day bragging rights for a second successive Old Firm clash against Rangers after edging out their rivals 2-1 at Parkhead on Saturday.
The Hoops increased their lead at the top of the Scottish Premiership to eight points in the process heading into the New Year, with Rangers possessing two games in-hand. With both sides applying the finishing touches on their transfer preparations, we have rounded up all the latest news surrounding both sides on Sunday, December 31st.
Rangers lead ‘three-horse’ race for versatile £2.5m winger
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Philippe Clement has responded to rumours that Rangers are ready to splash out £2.5million on Vitesse Arnhem winger Million Manhoef.
As per a Scottish Sun report, the Ibrox club have tracked the highly-rated Dutch youth international for the past 12 months and new director of football recruitment Nils Koppen is thought to be an admirer of the player, who turns 22 next month.
Manhoef, who operates mainly on the right-hand side but if also effective on the opposite flank or as a full-back, has 18 months remaining on his current deal. It is believed Vitesse would be ‘willing to listen’ to offers in January with English Champions leaders Leicester City and Preston North End among other contenders eyeing his signature.
Addressing possible transfer movement, Clement refused to be drawn on speculation. He told BBC Sportsound: “I never speak about about players we are interested in or not because then I can speak every day about rumours, there are so many rumours in Glasgow that are wrong.
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“We will speak about players that are in the building and with Fabio (Silva) it is the case and this year he’ll push like the rest to make it a great season. How many are we looking to bring in? These are things we talked about with the board, everyone’s aligned about that and we’ll see what is possible in January.
“Everyone is working hard and pushing to get the maximum out of what we want. I also want to see players pushing to stay in the team and at the club.”
Celtic target drops subtle transfer clue
Celtic-linked Tiago Araujo appears to be keeping a close eye on his transfer suitors after congratulating fellow countryman Paulo Bernardo on his Old Firm goal against Rangers.
The £4m-rated Estoril wing back has emerged as a potential January signing option for manager Brendan Rodgers as he searches for stronger competition to compete with Greg Taylor for the left-back spot.
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The 22-year-old Portuguese youth international is considered to be versatile and is capable of adopting a more attacking role. Fans have been left excited by the prospect of him heading to Parkhead next month and the player has now dropped a subtle club that Glasgow could be his next possible destination.
Araujo heightened transfer speculation last night after responding to Bernardo’s social media post of him celebrating his opening goal at Parkhead. He replied: “Have you scored yet?” accompanied by three heart-eye emojis.
Celtic ‘move forward’ in Prospect talks after summer scouting missions
Celtic “advance” in talks with “prospect” after summer scouting missions
Celtic are in the market for quality in the January window…
Celtic boss Brendan Rodgers has made no secret of his desire to add quality to the ranks at Parkhead in January and his side are now reportedly advancing in negotiations for a known target.
Celtic gearing up for busy January window
Despite a comfortable 3-0 victory over Dundee at Dens Park on Boxing Day, Celtic will be keen to strengthen in January and Rodgers has made his intent to bolster his squad known over the last few weeks.
Speaking earlier this month cited via Sky Sports, the Irishman signalled his intention to add a high calibre of player mid-season, as he stated: “There’s no doubt now that, one, the squad will come down in numbers and obviously we need to add quality. There is no dressing it up, the group lost real quality players in the summer. That’s something that over the coming windows we will look to improve on.”
Boost for Rodgers as Celtic make aggressive January call on Matt O’Riley
Bringing in a striker has become a priority for the Hoops and their need is exacerbated by the fact that Kyogo Furuhashi, Oh Hyeon-gyu and Daizen Maeda could all head off to represent their respective nations on Asian Cup duty. Wolverhampton Wanderers striker Fabio Silva is believed to have been offered on loan as a potential short-term solution to the Scottish Premiership champions’ conceivable shortage of frontmen and it remains to be seen whether the Portugal Under-21 international will move to Parkhead.
Hacken midfielder Romeo Amane, Aberdeen striker Bojan Miovski and Brondby talent Mathias Kvistgaarden are all other names who have been mentioned in connection with Celtic in previous weeks. Now, comments from the manager of a known Hoops target have come to light suggesting that Celtic may be moving closer to completing a signing, as cited by a report.
Celtic “advance” in Jung negotiations
As per reports from South Korea, cited by The Daily Record, Celtic have managed to “advance” in negotiations with Gwangju midfielder Jung Ho-Yeon, who was scouted by Hoops’ chiefs in the summer transfer window.
The Hoops have previously dipped into the South Korean market to recruit Yang Hyun-jun and Oh and could now be set to return to familiar territory for the 23-year-old midfielder.
Jung key statistics – K League 1 2023 (Sofascore)
Balls recovered per game
5.4
Tackles per game
2.0
Accurate passes per game
41.3 (90%)
Team of the week inclusions
5
Average match rating
6.99/10
Speaking to local media, Gwangju manager Lee Jung-Hyo detailed the latest on the situation, stating: “Jung Ho-Yeon is currently in talks to advance to Europe from Gwangju, but still have a long way to go. If you go to Europe now, you are bound to end up in a clumsy situation. It is wise to prepare well like Cho Gue-sung (who signed for Midtjylland last summer) and choose the team and league well.”
Labelled a “prospect” by Asian football expert Dario Focardi, the South Korea Under-23 international has gone on to make 34 appearances in 2023, registering two goals and three assists (Jung statistics – Transfermarkt).
Celtic will need to attract quality reinforcements if they are to retain their Scottish Premiership title and Jung looks like a midfielder who could add a different dimension to Rodgers’ engine room.
The Celtic January transfer rumour mill has thrown the name of Wolverhampton Wanderers forward, Fabio Silva into the hat.
The 21-year-old was once a £35.6 million club-record transfer for Wolves, but now he is struggling to come off the bench for the bottom-half English Premier League side.
With Brendan Rodgers wanting attacking reinforcements next month at Celtic, the name of Fabio Silva has been mentioned, as reported by TEAMtalk.
Andy Walker has shared that in Brendan Rodgers’ first spell at Celtic, the one-time wonderkid was linked with the club, as he told Go Radio.
But given his struggles at Wolves, it now seems like he will be heading for the exit door in January.
With Brendan Rodgers wanting attacking reinforcements next month at Celtic, the name of Fabio Silva has been mentioned, as reported by TEAMtalk.
Andy Walker has shared that in Brendan Rodgers’ first spell at Celtic, the one-time wonderkid was linked with the club, as he told Go Radio.
But given his struggles at Wolves, it now seems like he will be heading for the exit door in January.
Given the huge sum of money Wolves paid for Fabio Silva, and the fact that his contract runs until 2026, then there’s no chance of a permanent move to Celtic.
But never rule out a loan deal, with Andy Walker talking about how the versatile forward has ‘skill’ and ‘ability’ in his game.
Celtic’s transfer links with Wolves’ Fabio Silva
“He was on Celtic’s radar a number of years ago,” said Walker. “I remember doing a game down south and he was playing for Wolves. They were all talking about the interest from Celtic.
Approach made: Celtic ask about move to sign “highly talented” £15M striker, they’ ve had a reply
The Scottish Premiership side are looking to bolster their attacking ranks in January.
Celtic have made an approach to ask about a deal to bring one of their long-term targets to the Scottish Premiership, according to a fresh report that has emerged.
Hoops eyeing Kvistgaarden
Ahead of January, Brendan Rodgers will be assessing his options in the market to see if there are any players he could strengthen his squad with. One recently identified is Brondby forward Mathias Kvistgaarden if claims are to be believed.
The Bhoys are reportedly preparing an improved offer for the striker having seen their opening bid turned down over the summer, but should a deal for him fail to come to fruition for whatever reason, the hierarchy appear to have alternative centre-forward targets.
Sturm Graz’s Szymon Wlodarczyk only put pen to paper at his club during the previous window from Gornik Zabrze where he’s so far made 28 appearances to date (Transfermarkt – Wlodarczyk statistics), but he was on the board’s radar long before his most recent move.
Back in January, Mark Hendry first claimed that Poland’s youth international was of interest to the green and white stripes, though a switch hasn’t yet taken place, hence why he moved elsewhere, and it still sounds like the 20-year-old won’t be making the trip to Glasgow anytime soon despite new efforts.
Celtic submit enquiry for Wlodarczyk
According to Football Scotland, Celtic have asked about signing Wlodarczyk again next month, but after learning his price tag in a response from Sturm Graz, have decided that they couldn’t afford to complete a deal in January.
“Football Scotland can also reveal Celtic reached out to Sturm Graz in an effort to revisit another former transfer target, Szymon Wlodarczyk, but were told his valuation has sky-rocketed to around £15m which would financially be out of their reach in January.”
Wlodarczyk is a “highly talented” striker
Since joining Sturm Graz, Wlodarczyk has racked up 11 contributions (nine goals and two assists) from 28 appearances, displaying how prolific he can be in the final third, and he’s able to pose a constant threat to the opposition’s defence in the attacking areas of the pitch.
Sponsored by Adidas, Walbrzych’s native has recorded 32 shots over the course of the current campaign which is more than any other of his fellow teammates, highlighting what a standout performer he is in front of the net compared to his peers (FBRef – Sturm Graz statistics).
Standing at 6 foot 2, Rodgers’ target is also able to provide a real physical presence up top with his height, with his ability to win aerial duels making him a real handful for any backline to deal with, alongside how dangerous he can be with the ball at his feet.
Described by football scout Jacek Kulig, Wlodarczyk is a “highly talented” player with an extremely bright future ahead of him, but with Celtic not set to splash the cash to get their long-term target in the coming weeks, it could prove to be a blow considering the positive impact that he may have been able to make.
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Chloe is an experienced football journalist and podcaster having worked in the sports media industry for the past three years.
Combining her love of the beautiful game with a passion for writing, Chloe started out creating and editing articles for Our MFC before going on to cover the Euro 2020 tournament with Overtime Sports Online.
In March 2022, Chloe was selected to join the academy team at Snack Media and later secured the role of freelance writer for The Transfer Tavern before moving over to the company’s flagship site, Football FanCast.
Chloe is also a huge Stoke City supporter having been a season ticket holder at the Bet365 Stadium for over a decade.
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