Ex Celtic ace deemed 'great fit' for Man Utd amid transfer battle, key factor in Rangers' UEL chances assessed

Celtic and Rangers both recorded victories over the weekend as the Scottish Premiership resumed following the international break.

The Hoops eased to a routine 3-0 success against Hearts at Parkhead, with Daizen Maeda’s brace plus a strike by Jota putting the game out of sight by half-time. In contrast, Rangers found themselves 2-0 down and 3-1 down against Dundee before staging a late comeback to run out 4-3 winners at Dens Park.

Here are some of the headlines surrounding both clubs this Monday afternoon.

Ibrox pivotal in Bilbao UEL clash

Former Manchester United star Lee Sharpe believes Rangers will need to produce a big home leg performance to have any chance of defeating Spanish outfit Athletic Bilbao in their upcoming Europa League quarter-final tie.

It comes after the La Liga club revealed over 4,000 of their fans have applied for tickets for the first leg at Ibrox after receiving an official allocation of 2,634 briefs. If a larger allocation is approved, they will be backed by a bumper support at Ibrox.

Speaking to BetBrain, ex-Red Devils winger Sharpe said: “It’s a tough ask, but I think Rangers could sneak past Bilbao in the Europa League quarter-finals. On their day they’re a good enough team, but with any cup competition you’ll need to have a little bit of luck and make sure your big players turn up and perform.

“Ibrox will be buzzing and the Bilbao players won’t know what’s hit them when they step onto the pitch. I’ve been to Bilbao’s stadium and they can create a fantastic atmosphere as well, so it’ll be a tough ask for Rangers to come away with a result there, but if they turn up and put a performance in then there’s every chance they can do it.”

Ex-Celtic touted for Man Utd transfer

Jaap Stam believes insists Celtic defender Jeremie Frimpong would be a 'great fit' for his old club, Manchester United.

The 24-year-old full-back is expected to leave Bundesliga giants Bayer Leverkusen this summer with a return to the UK a possible option after attracting interest from a host of top Premier League clubs, including Chelsea and Liverpool.

Stam told Makthavare.se: “Jeremie Frimpong can play as a right-wing back having also played as a right winger and a right back. He has pace and is very direct and can score goals as well as create chances for his team-mates.

“I think he would be a very interesting player for Manchester United to look at, he would fit the style of play on the right hand side, the only issue might be if the club don’t want to continue bringing in Dutch players going forward.

“But he has a lot of quality and is doing so well in a tough division in Germany, I think he would be a great fit for the system at United.”

If United were to make a transfer swoop for Frimpong, they would need to act quickly amid reports that Arne Slots’ Reds are in talks to bring him in to replace the outgoing Trent Alexander-Arnold.