Premiership rivals stand firm on World Cup hopeful as preference emerges amid Rangers and Celtic interest

Dundee head coach Steven Pressley had told supporters to cherish watching Luke Graham while they can - but has promised them the club won’t sell their star man on the cheap in the summer.

Graham, 22, has emerged as a reported transfer target for Glasgow rivals Celtic and Rangers after a breakout season at Dens Park. Pressley admits the club will struggle to hold onto the centre-back, who has been tipped as a potential candidate for Scotland’s World Cup squad this summer.

However, after turning down a seven-figure bid from Portsmouth during the January transfer window, the Dark Blues’ manager says the club have placed a valuation on his head and won’t be bullied into letting him go cheaply this summer.

Dundee's Luke Graham has been linked with a summer move to Celtic and Rangers. | SNS Group

“Our biggest problem, it’s obvious, is trying to hold on to him or trying to replace him,” he said. “That’s going to be the hardest part of the summer. It may be the case that we just have to enjoy him while he’s here. He’s been outstanding for us, he really has. He’s been a real standout. He’s grown week after week.”

With Nasser Djiga scheduled to return to Wolverhampton Wanderers in the summer, Emmanuel Fernandez attracting major interest, and the club not expected to exercise the option to sign on loan centre-back Derek Cornelius, Rangers are on the lookout for defensive reinforcements and have kept a close eye on Graham for several months.

Celtic also hope to lure the defender to Parkhead this summer, but several reports claim the 22-year-old is favouring a switch to Ibrox, where he sees a clearer path to becoming a regular starter. While Pressley admits Dundee may be powerless to keep him when the transfer window re-opens in June, he believes the fee to secure his signature is only going to grow with each passing week.

“I think that it’s the nature of the way football works that we’re not the only selling club,” said Pressley. There’s maybe only one or two clubs in the world that aren’t selling clubs. We have to accept that. But as the club have shown over the January window that Luke Graham won’t be leaving unless we get the fee that we think is acceptable and reflects his value, and that seems to grow by the game.”

Dundee are also bracing themselves for interest in soon-to-be out-of-contract goalkeeper Jon McCracken. Another of Pressley’s players hoping to be part of Steve Clarke’s Scotland squad at the World Cup this summer, reports claim Celtic are pondering a move for the 25-year-old stopper ahead of next season.

EFL Championship trio Sheffield Wednesday, Blackburn Rovers, and Queens Park Rangers have all been cited as admirers of McCracken in recent weeks, though reports claim Celtic are now amongst several candidates assessing him as a potential option in the goalkeeping department, with Kasper Schmeichel expected to leave when his contract expires at Celtic Park in the summer.

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