Rumour Mill: Rangers man '˜checks into rehab' | Celtic face Edouard sweat | Hibs boost in striker chase

Rangers midfielder checks himself into rehab, Celtic could face a sweat in their bid to sign Odsonne Edouard permanently and Hibs have been handed a boost in their own pursuit of a striker

Pena ‘checks into rehab’

Rangers outcast Carlos Pena is understood to have checked himself into rehab in his homeland, where he had been playing under ex-Gers boss Pedro Caixinha at Cruz Azul.

ESPN claims the 28-year-old, who still has two years left on his £20,000 per week contract at Ibrox, entered the Baja Del Sol clinic in Tijuana, Mexico, two weeks ago.

A Rangers midfielder has checked himself into rehab, according to reports. Picture: Getty Images

The 19 times capped Mexico international has endured on and off-field troubles since returning to his homeland, having been booed by Cruz fans, caught urinating in a fountain and then sacked. (Daily Mail)

Could mystery club scupper Celtic’s Edouard deal?

Celtic’s move for Odsonne Edouard is under threat from a mystery foreign club, according to reports.

The Hoops are keen to seal a permanent deal for the PSG youngster but an unnamed club have also approached the 20-year-old striker.

Edouard netted 11 times for Celtic last season and while Brendan Rodgers’ side has an option to buy until mid-June, other clubs are still keen on landing the Frenchman. (The Sun)

Kamberi boost for Hibs

Sunderland’s new manager Jack Ross has been unsuccessful in his bid to take Hibs’ on-loan striker Florian Kamberi to the Stadium of Light.

Ross, who has also been linked with John McGinn, was keen to make Kamberi his first signing after quitting St Mirren to take charge of the English League 1 side.

But the move never got off the ground due to the transfer fee demanded by his parent club. A source close to Kamberi said: “Hibs have a fee agreed with Grasshoppers, no other club does. It looks like Sunderland’s interest is over.” (The Scotsman)

Hearts closing in on McLaughlin replacement

Hearts manager Craig Levein admits he must now find two new goalkeepers after selling No.2 Jack Hamilton to Dundee. With first-choice Jon McLaughlin out of contract and expected to leave Tynecastle Park, Levein is seeking an experienced No.1 and a capable understudy. He is closing in on one target to replace McLaughlin but finer details of a deal are still being ironed out. He is content to wait to identify the man who would be Hearts’ new back-up keeper.

“I’ve got one keeper which I think will get done and I will just wait for a little bit longer and see if something else comes up. I want an experienced goalie to play,” stated Levein. (Evening News)

Dempster: I’ll slash away fans tickets again

Leeann Dempster has insisted she won’t hesitate to slash ticket allocations for visiting supporters, declaring: “Hibs fans will always come first.”

The Easter Road chief executive ruffled the feathers of Rangers when she halved their number of tickets for the final game of the season, the Ibrox club claiming the decision “beggars belief”.

Dempster said: “Every club wants to look after its own supporters. I don’t understand what is controversial about that. We monitored it all season. If there’s a need, we’ll do it again. Absolutely. It’s important to me that the people who come to support this club week in, week out, are looked after.” (Evening News)

SPFL rejects King call

The Scottish Professional Football League has rejected Rangers’ call for chairman Murdoch MacLennan to be suspended and an independent probe set up into his business links with “leading shareholders” of Celtic.

Ibrox chairman Dave King made the call following reports over MacLennan’s recent appointment as non-executive chairman of Irish-based Independent News & Media Group (INM).

Celtic’s largest shareholder, Dermont Desmond, is listed as a major shareholder in INM along with Denis O’Brien, who has a minor stake in Rangers’ Glasgow rivals.

In his latest statement, King said: “The credibility of Scottish football in the minds of supporters and sponsors is at stake and urgent action is required. The SPFL and SFA must now appoint independent investigators.” (The Scotsman)

McLeish praises raw Scotland

Alex McLeish believes an inexperienced Scotland side gave a good account of themselves in this morning’s 2-0 defeat to Peru but were simply undone by a better team. He partly absolved Jordan Archer of blame after the debutant keeper – one of seven new players blooded by McLeish, including Hibs pair Lewis Stevenson and Dylan McGeouch – looked suspect at both goals.

“Peru are at at better level than us, we have to be honest on that. Maybe we have to do other things to try to get some kind of result but overall the organisation of the team was good, the players concentrated.

“We do have a lot of new players tonight. A lot of players came in from the Scottish league, which is not recognised as a good league. But I was very proud of them tonight.” (The Scotsman)