Scottish Football Transfer News: Rangers ace to eye summer exit, striker turned down summer Celtic move, Hearts & Hibs dismay at ticket prices

It's a big night in Europe for Rangers ahead of the return of Premiership football at the weekend.

The Ibrox side are in Belgrade looking to secure passage to the quarter-final of the Europa League.

All the latest news and transfer speculation from around the SPFL and Scottish football.

Edinburgh clubs’ ticket dismay

A look at all the latest from around the SPFL and Scottish football. (Photo by Craig Williamson / SNS Group)

Hearts and Hibs have stated their disappointment at the cost of tickets for the upcoming Scottish Cup semi-final at Hampden Park. The Edinburgh duo have been paired with one another for the Saturday 12.15pm kick-off. An adult ticket costs £35 in most sections with £25 in some.

Hibs said in a statement: "After receiving the ticket information from the SFA, there were a number of long and strong conversations regarding the price and expense to our supporters. Our concerns were matched by Hearts as we stressed the point of making football affordable for everyone. We completely understand how much it costs to be a football supporter and how expensive it is to follow your team up and down the country, especially in the current climate. We explained this in detail to the SFA, however, they have not moved on their decision, which is incredibly disappointing and has caused us great frustration.” (Various)

Ex-Ger on Gerrard influence

Rangers flop Eros Grezda has pinpointed Steven Gerrard as the best manager he has worked with and tipped him to become Liverpool boss one day. Grezda is playing for HNK Sibenik in Croatia. He said: “Steven Gerrard? Legend, the best coach I've ever worked with. He lives for football, he completely surrenders to it. I see him for sure as the future coach of Liverpool, I hope as the successor of Jurgen Klopp." (Sibenik website)

Morelos likely to see exit

Alfredo Morelos is unlikely to sign a new Rangers deal after swapping agents. The Colombian moved away from World in Motion who have been his representatives since before moving to Ibrox. It is understood that Morelos, who has one year left remaining on his contract from the end of this season, is doing so to earn a move. (Daily Record)

Striker turned down summer Celtic move

Daizen Maeda turned down the chance to move to Celtic in the summer as he sought to win the J-League with Yokohama F. Marinos. The forward finished top scorer in the league but it was Kawasaki Frontale who emerged as winners. Maeda said: “That didn’t happen in the end and I made the move to Celtic and I’m really happy with being here now and trying to contribute to the team.” (Celtic View)

Lennon on ‘most difficult’ period in career

Neil Lennon has revealed that the 2020/21 season was the hardest period of his career. The Northern Irishman was Celtic boss trying to steer the club to ten in a row but departed during the campaign as the club struggled in the league and cups. He said: “There was nobody in stadiums but it was just everywhere else. It was toxic and pressurised, and we were going through a pandemic as well. That was probably the most difficult thing I’ve had to handle in my career. There were a lot of things out of my control, like not being able to go and look at players. You were recruiting them from computer screens because everything was shut.” (Scottish Sun)

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