Celtic £30m exit looms, £8m replacement lined up, Rangers clearout starts, Scotland striker's SPFL return - transfer news

Celtic £30m exit looms

Matt O'Riley is set to be left out of the Celtic squad to face St Mirren on Sunday amid reports that a £30m transfer to the English Premier League has been agreed. The midfielder has been the subject of intense interest this summer with Atalanta having five bids rejected before eventually giving up the chase, while Southampton also failed with a bid earlier in the window. Atletico Madrid were first to test the water with Celtic but they too were rebueffed back in January. However, it now appears that Brighton have won the race for the Denmark intenrational's signature with a £25m initial fee plus £5m worth of potential add-ons setting a new Scottish transfer record. It is widely reported that the deal will be completed over the weekend with O'Riley already on his way to the south coast of England to undergo a medical. It is claimed the 23-year-old has agreed a five-year contract with the Seagulls until June 2029.

£8m replacement ready

As Matt O'Riley prepares to head through the Celtic exit door, the club are already preparing to bring in his replacement with a move for Los Angeles FC midfielder Mateusz Bogusz. Negotations have taken place between the two clubs over the transfer of the 23-year-old but have been put on hold until after LAFC's involvement in the Leagues Cup final against Columbus Crew in the early hours of Monday morning. The former Poland Under-21 international is one of the rising stars of the MLS with 17 goals and six assists in 33 appearances for LA since joining from Leeds United in March 2023. According to reports, Celtic are prepared to pay an £8million transfer fee to secure a player tipped to win his first senior international call-up for Poland against Scotland in the Nations League next month. Celtic are also reported to have approached Bundesliga side Augsburg over a move for highly-rated 20-year-old midfielder Ange Engels.

Matt O'Riley appears to have played his last game for Celtic with the midfielder on the verge of completing a £30m move to Brighton. | SNS Group

Rangers clearout starts

Rangers manager Philippe Clement has made no secret of that fact that he needs to move players on before he is able to make any further additions to his squad ahead of the transfer deadline. The Belgian has already recruited seven new players this summer - plus Mohamed Diomande's loan becoming permanent - with a similar number of departures helping to balance the wage bill. However, Clement's rebuild is still far from complete and he is still looking to free up more cash in order to bring in some more of his own players with reports this week of a failed bid for Almeria centre-back Kaiky. Todd Cantwell, Ianis Hagi and Rabbi Matondo are all expected to form part of a clearout in the final week of the window. However, the first departure looks set to involve Ben Davies amid reports that the former Liverpool defender is on the verge of securing a loan move to Birmingham City in a deal that could also include an option-to-buy. Davies started only seven matches for Rangers last season and is behind Leon Balogun, John Souttar and new signing Robin Propper in the pecking order under Clement.

Scotland striker's SPFL return

Scotland forward Kevin Nisbet could make his Aberdeen debut at home to Kilmarnock on Sunday after joining on a season-long loan from Millwall. The 27-year-old has returned to the Scottish Premiership just over a year after the Lions bought him from Hibernian. Nisbet’s first season at The Den was undermined by injury and a “disciplinary issue” in May, and he did not make the Scotland squad for Euro 2024. He is hoping to help Aberdeen – who have won all seven competitive matches under Jimmy Thelin – maintain their strong start to the season. “As soon as I knew Aberdeen were interested, it was a no-brainer to be honest,” he told the Dons official website. I did have options down south and with other teams in Scotland but the way the team have started the season, I wanted to get involved. This is a massive club. It’s one that makes an impression on you and I want to be part of that. I spoke to the gaffer and listened to his philosophy and his plans. I was impressed with his style of play and I believe it suits me. It is an exciting project that I want to be part of and I am ready to give it my all for the fans.”

Aberdeen recently sold talismanic striker Bojan Miovski to Girona and Thelin is excited about adding Nisbet, who has more than 100 career goals to his name, to his squad.

“Kevin is a fantastic addition for us,” he said. “His appetite and desire to come to Aberdeen and be part of what we are building here was really pleasing. He is a proven goalscorer, with a particularly impressive scoring rate here in Scotland, and he’ll further strengthen our squad, providing healthy competition in the forward areas. He also has all the personal attributes we look for in a player and we believe his energy will have an instant impact with our supporters.”