Rumour Mill: Celtic | van Dijk | Garry O’Connor
Celtic Pole-axed by Legia
DEILA M for Murder. Woe in Warsaw. Fold.
Just a few of the backpage headlines following Celtic’s 4-1 defeat to Legia Warsaw in Poland.
Efe Ambrose’s 44th-minute sending off compounded a night of misery for Celtic, who had got off to a great start thanks to Callum McGregor’s goal after just seven minutes.
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Hide AdBut the Hoops defence looked shaky as Miroslav Radovic scored a brace in the first half, with Michal Zyro and substitute Jakub Kosecki scoring one apiece in the last ten minutes.
And it could have been more - Legia missed one penalty and saw Fraser Forster save a second as the Hoops fizzled out at the Pepsi Arena. (The Scotsman)
We can score three in return leg - Deila
RONNY Deila is adamant that Celtic can score three goals without reply in Edinburgh and stage an astonishing comeback against the Poles.
Last year, the Hoops knocked out Shakhtar Karagandy 3-2 on aggregate after a 2-0 loss in Kazakhstan.
And Deila told The Scotsman: “We have one away goal and it is possible to win 3-0 at home. We will try everything we can to do it. We let everyone down tonight and that’s my responsibility. We still have a chance to go through. With the Celtic supporters behind us at Murrayfield, as I know they will be, we will try everything to win the tie.” (The Scotsman)
Now Napoli want van Dijk
NAPOLI are the latest club to be linked with a move for Celtic stopper Virgil van Dijk.
The Dutch defender is on the radar of several clubs including Swansea, Southampton, Sunderland, and Hamburg and now Rafa Benitez could swoop to bring the highly-rated centre half to Italy.
The ex-Liverpool and Chelsea boss has reportedly added van Dijk to his list of targets after a string of impressive performances while Southampton manager Ronald Koeman is eyeing the 23-year-old as he looks to rebuild at St Mary’s. (The Sun)
Liege could woo Louis
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Hide AdTONY Watt’s new club Standard Liege could pip Celtic to the signing of Haiti midfielder Jeff Louis.
The Nancy midfielder, who the Hoops have been tracking for some time, was again linked with a move to Celtic Park earlier this week.
But the Belgian giants could nick Louis from under Celtic’s nose with a £2 million bid.
Louis scored 12 goals in 29 matches for Ligue 2 side Nancy last season and has a year left on his contract. (The Sun)
O’Connor bid ‘started as a joke’
SELKIRK boss Steve Forrest revealed he had put ex-Hibs and Scotland striker Garry O’Connor on his list of targets as a joke.
The 31-year-old hitman has been without a club since leaving Morton last season, and will play for Selkirk for nothing.
Forrest said: “When I came to Selkirk, we wrote down our dream team and included Garry in it. We never expected it to happen but I’m delighted that he has agreed to join us.”
Forrest added that O’Connor is also looking at getting into coaching, and that he could make his debut this Saturday.
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Hide AdThe former Lokomotiv Moscow and Birmingham forward watched on last night as Selkirk defeated Hibs Under-20s 3-1 at Yarrow Park. (The Sun)
News in brief
• Stevie May is a doubt for St Johnstone ahead of their clash with Spartak Trnava
• Ex-Hibs defender Pa Kujabi has signed for English Conference South side Whitehawk
• St Mirren have signed striker Callum Ball, who has scored five goals in two pre-season matches including four in a 10-0 win against Whitley Bay
• Ross County are hopeful of securing the services of Parma’s Slovenian left-back Uros Celcer
• Alan Stubbs has confirmed he will be looking to take a few Everton youngster on loan at Hibs