Scottish transfers: Donny van de Beek Celtic 'restart', race for £2m Rangers star heats up, big money offer for Scotland U21 ace

The transfer rumour mill is in full swing with just four days to go until the start of the new Scottish football season in the opening round of the Viaplay Cup group stages...

Van de Beek interest

Celtic have been credited with interest in Manchester United midfielder Donny van de Beek - and former Parkhead boss Neil Lennon reckons a move could be possible to ‘restart’ his career. United signed the Dutchman from Ajax for £35million in 2020 after starring in the club's run to the Champions League semi-finals, but his move to Old Trafford has not gone to plan with just seven Premier League appearances to his name in three seasons and a serious knee injury also hindering his progress. Van de Beek has two years left on his United contract and his wages are beyond what Celtic could afford but Lennon does not see that being a stumbling block in a potential loan move.

When asked if Celtic could make the deal happen, Lennon told the Go Radio Football Show: “Possibly. His career stalled a bit. He was outstanding at Ajax the season they got to the semi-finals of the Champions League in that really good young Ajax team. He went to United and it didn’t work out. He went on loan to Everton and that didn’t work either. So he needs a kickstart.

Celtic have been credited with an interest in Manchester United midfielder Donny van de Beek. (Photo by Manchester United/Manchester United via Getty Images)

“Maybe Celtic’s that place for him. He’s certainly shown he’s got the pedigree and you never lose that, you just sometimes lose your confidence or your hunger or you lose your way a little bit. And you know, a player of that calibre needs a restart and maybe he’s thinking Celtic might be the place to go. But there’s a lot of work to be done in a deal involving that. He’ll be on huge money, let’s not beat about the bush here.

“So realistically, again, if you’re talking about your [Scott] McTominay and your [Kieran] Tierney’s and you’re [Donny] Van De Beek’s, realistically it would probably be a loan and Celtic making a contribution to the wages.”

Bumper offer for Motherwell’s Max

Motherwell's Max Johnston has been offered life-changing money to sign for Sturm Graz. The Champions League-chasing side are hoping to win the race to sign the Scotland Under-21 right-back ahead of interest clubs in England and Italy. And, according to the Daily Record, they have offered Johnston a bumper five-figure salary as well as assurances over first-team football in a bid to tempt him to Austria. Sturm Graz will attempt to reach the Champions League via the qualifers this coming season and will drop into the Europa League if they fail to make it through. Motherwell would be due a £300,000 compensation fee.

Race for Colak heats up

Rangers striker Antonio Colak at the centre of a transfer battle with a pair of Italian sides entering the race to sign the Croatian. According to reports, Serie B rivals Parma and Pisa are both keen on the 29-year-old who netted 18 goals in his debut season at Ibrox. Werder Bremen have also been credited with an interest in Colak, who looks almost certain to depart Rangers this summer following the arrivals of Abdallah Sima, Sam Lammers and Cyriel Dessers and amid the ongoing interest in Feyenoord striker Danilo. It is believed Rangers would be looking for a fee in the region of £2m for Colak, who was signed by Giovanni van Bronckhorst last summer. He could be joined out the exit door by Glen Kamara and Scott Wright with Rangers understood to be open to offers for the pair amid interest from the English Championship.

No Celtic regrets

It was the saga of the January transfer window but Cho Gue-sung insists he has no regrets over the collapse of his proposed move to Celtic as he prepares to complete a move to FC Midtjylland. The Parkhead side were unable to conclude a deal for South Korean striker five months ago due mainly to stumbling blocks on the player’s side, and according to transfer expert Fabrizio Romano, Gue-sung will be playing his football in Denmark next season after agreeing a £2.6million move from Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors.

Gue-sung said: "I wanted to sign for a club that I could play games. I don't regret not signing for Celtic or Mainz. I've never had any regrets. I don't listen to what others say, so I tend to do what I want to do. I didn't ask other people for advice. I played about 12 games this season because of an injury at the beginning, but I feel like I'm ready now. Actually, if I had gone to Europe last winter, I would have struggled because of the injury."