Scottish transfers: Celtic eye £4m striker, new twist in Jota saga, Rangers first-team exits on cards
New twist in Jota saga
Celtic treble-winner Jota is reportedly set to leave Saudi Arabian side Al-Ittihad just a month after completing his big-money move amid claims he could be replaced by Liverpool superstar Mohamed Salah. The 24-year-old Portuguese ace has struggled to make an impact since completing the £25m transfer from Parkhead in July. He was benched for the opening two matches of the Saudi Pro League season after failing to impress in the club's quarter-final defeat to Al-Hilal in the Arab Club Champions Cup. According to leading Saudi journalist Waleed Al Farraj, Jota is already on his way out of Al-Ittihad with last season's Saudi champions said to be edging towards the signing of Salah as they look to upgrade on the ex-Celtic winger. "There is a 75 per cent chance that Salah will join Ittihad," Al Farraj said. "I heard that Jota will not continue with the team. Yes, the club paid €30 million for him, but the club found that he does not serve the team at the moment. Ittihad’s interests come first. I am happy to have Karim Benzema in the centre-forward position, but he lacks playing alongside world-class attacking wingers. It is the right of the Ittihad Jeddah fans to be saddened by the team’s current technical state, but we must not forget that last year, these same players managed to win the league. There is a fierce campaign against the players, management, and the coach because of the arrival of international stars to other clubs. These other clubs have signed more foreign players because Ittihad believes that last year they were the champion and should not sign foreigners in the same numbers as other clubs.”
More Rangers exits on cards
Rangers could be set to offload another couple of first-team stars following the recent departures of Fashion Sakala and Antonio Colak. Glen Kamara will almost certainly depart before the window closes with the English Championship a likely destination amid reports that the Finnish international is closing in on a £5.5million transfer to Leeds United. Ianis Hagi could also be on his way out of Rangers this summer after being dropped from the club's European squad for the Champions League play-off tie against PSV Eindhoven. Hagi spoke out regarding his lack of game-time at Rangers this season following his substitute appearance in the 2-1 win over Morton in the Viaplay Cup on Saturday, insisting he did not agree with manager Michael Beale's decisions but respected them. Beale responded by leaving Hagi out of his Champions League squad and revealed the Romanian forward is weighing up his future. “I have no issue with Ianis," the Rangers boss said. "He did well at the weekend. He wants to play as a starter and we might look at that before the window closes. He is competing with (Todd) Cantwell and (Sam) Lammers here. Ianis has worked very hard over the summer to be fit. He isn’t at an optimal fitness level yet. He wants to play week in week out and that isn’t guaranteed at Rangers. Ianis and his agent have been looking at things in the last week or so and have had an ongoing discussion. We can't guarantee him first team football here and no one is."
Celtic eye £4m striker
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Hide AdBrendan Rodgers admitted after Celtic's shock 1-0 defeat to Kilmarnock in the Viaplay Cup on Sunday that his side need to add "more quality" before the transfer window closes. According to reports, Brondby striker Mathias Kvistgaarden has emerged as one possible target with talk of a possible £4million move for the Denmark Under-21 international. Asked about the links with Celtic, Brondby director of football Carsten Jensen told TV3: "Basically, it has not been part of the plan. We are still in the process of transfers. It's both relation to ins and outs. We still need to adjust the number of players in the squad, even though we are getting to where we want to be. It's definitely getting closer to what we want to have in our squad. Then we have our eyes and ears open in relation to a few more positions.”
Tierney exiled by Arsenal again
Kieran Tierney's Arsenal exit is looking ever more likely after the Scotland international was left out of the squad again by MIkel Arteta for the 1-0 win over Crystal Palace on Monday night. Talk of a possible return to Celtic on loan has been ongoing throughout the summer while Newcastle have also been strongly linked, but according to transfer expert Fabrizio Romano, Spanish outfit Real Sociedad are at the front of the queue to land the 26-year-old left-back. Romano told Givemesport: "I think he will [leave Arsenal] because, on the player’s side, they are open to making this move happen. He wants to play, and that’s why Arsenal have the same intention.
“Real Sociedad are the club showing the biggest interest because they made a verbal proposal for a loan deal with a buy option. Arsenal asked for an obligation. So, Arsenal want a permanent transfer. For Tierney, they aren’t so keen on a loan transfer. Let’s see how the conversation with Real Sociedad will continue.”
Aberdeen to land double signing
Former St Mirren midfielder Jamie McGrath is on the verge of signing for Aberdeen amid previous interest from Hearts. The 26-year old Republic of Ireland international, who is a free agent following his departure from Wigan, is reported to have agreed terms on a move to Pittodrie. McGrath spent last season on loan at Dundee United but was unable to help save the club from relegation despite contributing eight goals. The Dons are also said to have agreed a deal to sign Finnish international defender Richard Jensen from Polish Gornik Zabrze. The 27-year-old centre-back has been capped nine times by his country and also has experiece of playing in the Netherlands.
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