Lazio eye Rangers man, Celtic ace wants deal for life, Griffiths on Hibs loan bid, ex-Hearts boss on semi-final - Scottish Premiership Rumour Mill

The latest Scottish football news, transfer rumours and gossip...

Ianis Hagi (right) is a reported target for Lazio - but only if Rangers don't take up a clause to buy the Romanian midfielder

Lazio poised for Hagi swoop

Serie A side Lazio are set to pounce for Ianis Hagi – if Rangers don’t take up their option on the loan star. The Gers have first refusal on the Romanian midfielder after agreeing a fee in the region of £4 million with Genk in January. Club and player are both keen for the permanent deal to go through but Ibrox chief Ross Wilson is wary of the coronavirus crisis leading to uncertainty in the summer transfer window and the Italians could pounce if Rangers don’t complete the transfer. (The Sun)

Deal me in for life, says Griff

Celtic striker Leigh Griffiths is keen to stay with the Hoops for the remainder of his career. The Scotland striker, who first joined the Parkhead side in January 2014, said in an interview with Open Goal: “Can I myself finishing my career at Celtic? Yeah. If I can do well in the next year, I will try to get myself another two-year deal. That will take me to 34. Then we will see where we go after that." (Open Goal)

Rangers dossier set for Thursday

Rangers are now poised to circulate their “dossier of evidence” against SPFL executives to the league’s other 41 member clubs on Thursday. Ibrox chief Stewart Robertson told his Premiership counterparts during a conference call last Friday that the material would be shared with them this week ahead of the EGM on 12 May seeking an independent inquiry into last month’s contentious vote on ending the 2019-20 season amid the Covid-19 crisis. It was initially expected that Rangers’ evidence would be released today but it’s understood that the timeline has been pushed back 48 hours. (The Scotsman)

Griffiths: I nearly rejoined Hibs under Stubbs

Celtic striker Leigh Griffiths has revealed how close he came to joining Hibs for a third spell during Ronny Deila’s tenure at Parkhead. Speaking on the Open Goal podcast, the Scotland international said: “I had spoken to Alan Stubbs, I’d spoken to Celtic. It was basically agreed. I was supposed to meet at the [Edinburgh] Marriott at quarter to five on the Monday. I was just about to leave, it was about half past three, quarter to four, and I got a phone call. I was like: ‘my boots are ready to go, I am supposed to be playing at Ibrox tonight’.” (The Scotsman)

Ex-Hearts chief: Play derby semi at Murrayfield

Whenever the Scottish Cup semi-final between Hearts and Hibs takes place, former Tynecastle chairman Les Deans is adamant it should be played at BT Murrayfield. Deans today supported comments from the SFA President Rod Petrie suggesting the Edinburgh venue may be more sensible for the tie than Hampden Park. Deans believes Murrayfield is the best stadium in the country and insisted 50,000 football fans travelling from the Capital to Glasgow and back makes no sense. (Evening News)

Revealed: 5 clubs ‘unable to finish season’

It emerged earlier this week that there are five Scottish Premiership clubs who would be struggling to finish the season if the campaign was started up again in June, owing to the numbers of players out of contract. The Scottish Government could call an end to the season today, with a reported nine top-flight teams ready to call time on the campaign, but the Daily Record claims Hamilton, Kilmarnock, Motherwell, Ross County and St Johnstone wouldn’t have enough players to carry on the season if the call was made. (Daily Record)