Celtic make key behind the scenes recruitment hire as Rangers have new January rival for midfield target
Celtic and Rangers have been in Scottish Premiership action on Saturday afternoon
Celtic have the chance to bring in some new faces now the January transfer window is open for business. Their head coach Wilfried Nancy will be looking to put his own stamp on his newly inherited squad. He was picked as their permanent replacement for Brendan Rodgers earlier this winter.
As for Rangers, they also have the opportunity to freshen things up this winter. Danny Rohl was appointed as their manager earlier this season. The ex-Sheffield Wednesday man came in for Russell Martin at Ibrox.
Celtic bring in James Bell-Walker
Celtic have brought in James Bell-Walker as a new scout. He has linked up with the Scottish Premiership giants to form part of Nancy’s recruitment team. Bell-Walker has most recently worked for Chelsea in the Premier League.
He has announced on LinkedIn: “New adventure starts today. Delighted to be joining Celtic, a huge club with huge ambitions.”
Bell-Walker worked at Chelsea behind the scenes for 18 months. Prior to his switch to Stamford Bridge, he had a three year spell at Bolton Wanderers as their Head of Technical Scouting and then Head of Recruitment. He has also had a stint in the academy set-up at Everton in the past.
Celtic will hope to use his knowledge to identify targets for the future. They could do with adding some more quality to their squad over the coming weeks. Nancy would certainly benefit from having some more of his own type of players at his disposal.
Rangers face competition for Jens Hjerto-Dahl
According to journalist Nicolo Schira, Rangers face competition from Eintracht Frankfurt in pursuit of Tromso midfielder Jens Hjerto-Dahl. The Gers have been linked with a swoop for the 20-year-old. However, they will have to bat away interest from other teams to get him.
In this latest update, reporter Schira has posted on X: “#EintrachtFrankfurt and #RangersFC have shown interest in #Tromsø’s young talent Jens #HjertøDahl (born in 2005). #transfers.”
Hjerto-Dahl, who is from Tromso, stands at 6ft 4inc and could be seen by Rohl as someone to bolster his midfield department. He is an imposing figure in the middle of the park and has caught the eye in Scandinavia over recent times. If he joined Rangers, he would give them more competition and depth.
The Norway youth international has been on the books at Tromso for his whole career to date. He has risen up through their academy and was a regular at various different youth levels. The youngster broke into their first-team back in 2023 and he has since made 87 appearances in all competitions, chipping in with 12 goals.
Rohl has said his side are working hard on transfers: "We are working 24/7 for players. It's about decision making, it's about negotiations, it's about timing. We have some players in our mind but you have to be a little bit patient. You always hope as a manager to get the players in very early. In January you have to be patient, but you have to be demanding. You have to take the opportunities and there are opportunities in the market."