Celtic and Rangers 'learn' asking price for Premiership standout as rivals slap massive price tag on attacker
Both sides of the Old Firm are interested in the Motherwell talisman.
Celtic and Rangers are interested in a Scottish Premiership star - however both clubs may be forced to pay over the odds if they want his services.
After 22 days and increasing fan frustrations being voiced, Martin O’Neill made his first signing on Thursday, as Tomas Cvancara finalised his loan deal from Borussia Monchengladbach. The Czech International striker joins Julian Araujo on the list of Parkhead January additions and will be available for their top of the table clash against Hearts on Sunday.
On the other side of the city, Danny Rohl has hinted that Rangers aren’t done in the window, despite already enlisting three new players. So far, the Govan side have signed both Tochi Chukwuani and Tuur Rommens on permanent deals, as well as Wolfsburg winger, Andreas Skov Olsen until the end of the season.
While the Glasgow sides have been looking across Europe for new additions, they’ve also both been looking a bit closer to home too. Motherwell striker Tawanda Maswanhise is the current joint top scorer in the Premiership and has naturally attracted Old Firm interest, however Jens Berthel Askou has put a massive price tag on his talisman.
Seven-figure price tag on Maswanhise
According to Football Insider’s Pete O’Rourke, The Lanarkshire side are after £4 million for the 23-year old’s services. He claims: “Maswanhise is a player who’s had a real impact in the Scottish Premiership this season, with 15 goals in 27 appearances.
“He’s been one of the standout players in the league, so it’s no surprise that the likes of Rangers and Celtic have been linked with Maswanhise. He’s come from nowhere at Motherwell, really taking the league by storm and enhancing his reputation. They’ll be looking for £4million plus, probably, for the player. In the current market, that would be the going rate for the winger, who can also play up front.”
The Zimbabwe International has recently returned from the Africa Cup of Nations and has picked up from where he left off in the league, scoring in each of Motherwell’s last four matches. Maswanhise was signed by Stuart Kettlewell from Leicester City in nearly 18 months ago and is contracted to the club until the summer of 2027.
Old Firm sides battle it out for Steelmen ace
Martin O’Neill was seen at Motherwell’s Scottish Cup victory over Ross County at Fir Park last week, in a match where Maswanhise scored the winner. Meanwhile, Rangers have expressed an interest in the attacker, however Motherwell chiefs have denied any approach of any kind.
Despite the Old Firm interest, Askou is keen to hold onto his talisman, as well as his other high-performing players in his over-achieving Steelmen side. After they drew with Hibs earlier this month, he said: “that’s the main plan, to make sure that this team gets the maximum out of this group of players, gets the maximum out of this season and then we know in the summer it’s a bigger window.
“So that’s the main track for us and then obviously there’s a few gaps here and there and we’ll see if we can fill them with quality like we did in the summer. There were a lot of gaps we had to fill.”