Rumour mill: Del Piero’s Celtic plea

Alessandro Del Piero has admitted he was interested in signing for Celtic in 2012 and would love a chance to now. Picture: Getty

Alessandro Del Piero tells Celtic manager Ronny Deila ‘Give me a call’

Alessandro Del Piero wants to sign for Celtic, two years after missing out on a chance to move to the Scottish champions. The Juventus legend was originally targeted by Neil Lennon in 2012 but talks stalled and he moved to Sydney FC instead. Del Piero said: “Two years ago it was interesting and it would be interesting again. If we could talk then great. If you want I’ll give you my phone number and you can pass it on! Celtic are a great team and I’ve always enjoyed playing in Scotland so who knows?” He added that he knew of Celtic’s interest in 2012 but that Celtic decided against making a bid, he said: “We were in contact with Celtic but it didn’t come to anything. But I was very interested in moving to Scotland.” (Sun)

Meanwhile Celtic will receive the results of Scott’s Brown scan today and will find out whether the skipper can play in any of the club’s European qualifiers. The player could be out for up to eight weeks if the scan reveals he has torn his hamstring. (Various)

Rangers admit they had issued inaccurate accounts to the Stock Exchange

Rangers yesterday issued a statement admitting they had issued inaccurate accounts to the Stock Exchange. The club revealed that the accounts drawn up by controversial former club secretary Brian Stockbridge did not disclose a huge windfall coming his way. A ‘golden handshake’ deal had apparently seen Stockbridge receive £215,000 worth of shares for just £7,000 - paying the diluted price of just a penny per share. The figures, published last October, stated in a paragraph described as note 30: “No share options or convertible shares are held within the Group, therefore no diluted Earnings per Share calculations are required.”

The club has stated that following the revelation no other ‘penny share’ giveaways are in the pipeline. (Record)

Derek McInnes urges David Goodwillie to make the most of his Aberdeen move

Derek McInnes has urged David Goodwillie to grab his chance at Aberdeen and get his career back on track. The striker penned a one-year deal with the club and insisted he had no hesitation in signing for the Dons despite training with St Johnstone. He said: “David has struggled of late. We’ve got him for a reason. Every signing has an element of risk but he’s worth that risk because I have such high regard for him. He’s only 25 but he also has to recognise it’s an important stage for him.” (Record)

St Johnstone boss Tommy Wright admits he expects the club to make no new signings

The frustrated St Johnstone manager says he had hoped to add three new players to his squad but expects to make no new signings this summer. He’s been told he will receive no funds from chairman Steve Brown and now reckons he will have to start next season with a squad of just thirteen senior players. The Northern Irishman said: “I spoke to the chairman this morning and he reiterated that we can’t do anything.” (Sun)

News in brief:

• Rosenborg have admitted that Celtic target Mikkel Diskerud will definitely move on this summer. (Record)

• Celtic face competition from Lazio if they wish to re-sign Georgios Samaras. Sevilla, Everton and Hamburg are also said to be interested in the Greek star. (Record)

• Cardiff’s David Marshall is attracting a lot of interest but boss Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has vowed to keep the player despite rumours that Southampton are ready to bid £8million for the former Celtic star. (Sun)

• New Ross County striker Jake Jervis says he’s ready for anything Scotland can throw at him after surviving the firestorm that is Turkish football. (Sun)

• Madjid Bougherra will decide this week whether to move to America with Philadelphia Union or return to England in his search for a new club. (Sun)

Rumour mill: Del Piero’s Celtic plea | Rangers