Celtic and Rangers 'battling' for return of Premiership star

The January transfer window is fast approaching and it undoubtedly has the potential to play a key role in the Scottish Premiership title race. As it stands, Celtic are the pacesetters in the division with 35 points from 13 games, giving them an eight point gap on Rangers who have played one game less.

Both of the two teams are believed to be in the market for a striker to fire them to the title and are said to be monitoring the potential availability of Dutch striker Kevin van Veen, who is reportedly eyeing up a move back to the UK just six months after his Motherwell departure.

The 32-year-old rose to prominence in the fourth-tier of Dutch football with JVC Cuijk when he fired in 20 goals from 29 appearances in 2013/14. Further success followed in the second-tier when he registered 16 goals in just 20 appearances for FC Oss.

Since 2014, van Veen has played the majority of his football in the UK - enjoying two steady spells with Scunthorpe as well as a two season stint at Northampton Town.

The Dutch forward was judged to be Scunthorpe’s Player of the Season in 2020, but he hit new heights after his transfer to Motherwell in 2021.

Van Veen enjoyed a steady first season with Motherwell - scoring nine in 32 appearances, before establishing himself as one of the best goalscorers in the division last term with 25 goals from 38 appearances - earning himself a place in the Scottish Premiership Team of the Season and a nomination for the Player of the Season award.

The 6ft1 forward completed a £500,000 summer switch back to Holland to join FC Groningen, but claimed Rangers were interested in his services at the time.

However, the experienced forward has struggled to hit the same standards back in his homeland with five goals in 13 appearances and he has now sensationally claimed that he would welcome a move back to Scotland for family reasons.

Van Veen told the Scottish Sun: “The move back home’s not worked out the way I had anticipated. My girlfriend is expecting our first child in the next couple of weeks, and it’s becoming more and more difficult for me.

“I knew when I went to Groningen that it would present a challenge because of our domestic situation, but it has been much harder than I thought it would be. I was back in Scotland last week, then returned to Holland.

“I realised then the next time I made the trip, I might have to hold our baby, then hand him or her back and leave them behind. That hit me really hard. Family is so important to me and I think it’s going to be difficult to do that.

“Of course I would listen to Motherwell because I had a successful time there. But last season my agent told me there was definitely interest in me from Rangers, though at my age I maybe don’t fit their profile. I had a lot of happy times in Scotland and I’d never rule out more.”

The Celtic Star adds that Brendan Rodgers is also keeping a close eye on the player's situation as he looks to add further experience to his frontline and additional options to help the club compete on all fronts.