Celtic star ‘not interested’ in transfer as Rangers man makes ‘you never know’ claim

It’s a busy time in Scottish football with clubs preparing for another Scottish Cup weekend followed by the first international break of 2023 all while transfer talk continues to rumble on in the background.

Celtic and Rangers effectively cut off any chance of a side chasing them down in the top two spots in the Scottish Premiership last night with Ange Postecoglou’s side seeing off third place Hearts while Michael Beale’s Gers defeated fourth placed Hibs. The Hoops face the Jambos again this weekend in the quarter-finals of the national cup while Championship side Raith Rovers will be the visitors to Ibrox. Meanwhile, these are the latest Celtic and Rangers news stories making the headlines on Thursday, March 9:

Celtic star ‘not interested’ in Southampton move

Celtic striker Daizen Maeda has insisted he has no interest in moving to English Premier League side Southampton. The Japanese forward had previously been linked with a move to the Saints who currently sit bottom of the English top flight table and sent scouts to watch the 25-year old.

Maeda said: “Right now, I’m not thinking about the future at all. I just won one of the domestic cups with Celtic, but I still have another cup and league title left to win this season. That is my only priority. Personally, I would like to achieve double-digit goals and assists. Until this season, I had almost no assists even though I scored a few goals. This season, my assists have increased and I would like to think that’s been linked to our results. If I want to be a part of the next World Cup in the USA, then there are still many things here at Celtic that I need to do.”

Former Rangers striker ‘dreaming’ of Scotland call-up

Former Rangers striker Ryan Hardie has spoken about hi chances of earning a call-up to Steve Clarke’s Scotland squad in the near future. The Murray Park graduate made 13 appearances for his boyhood club between 2014 and 2019 but has really started to shine with English League One side Plymouth Argyle.

The former Livingston, St Mirren and Raith Rovers loanee has been banging the goals in for the third tier side and said: “For me it’s just about proving what I can do, getting myself as high up as possible and then thinking about that. It comes with success, so I just need to keep doing well and then you never know. Everybody’s dream is to play for their country. It’s something I will never ever give up on but I’m not saying I’m ready for it yet.”