Former Celtic star ‘in talks’ with Aston Villa, Rangers transfer target ‘desperate’ to join Ibrox side

We are now two thirds of the way through the January transfer window and time is beginning to run out for clubs across Scotland to get any deals over the line.

On the pitch it’s Scottish Cup weekend with Celtic and Rangers both in fourth round action. The Hoops will host Championship side Greenock Morton at Celtic Park while Michael Beale’s side face a trip to Premiership rivals St Johnstone. Behind the scenes, there still seems to be plenty going on in the transfer window involving both clubs. Here are the Celtic and Rangers transfer news stories making the headlines on Friday, January 20:

Aston Villa ‘in talks’ to sign former Celtic striker

Per 90min, English Premier League side Aston Villa have opened talks with Lyon forward Moussa Dembele, a hugely popular figure during his time at Celtic Park. The Villains are expecting Danny Igns to join league rivals West Ham so are in the market for a new centre forward and look to have turned their attention to the 26-year old Frenchman.

Celtic signed Dembele in 2016 after he left Fulham and sold him two years later for a fee of €22 million - after the player had scored 51 goals in 94 appearances. The news that he could move to Villa this month is very much positive for the Hoops with various sources previously having reported that they have a 15 percent sell-on clause and. With the striker’s contract due to expire in the summer, Celtic will be hopeful of a move this month securing them a bonus potential windfall.

Swansea City star ‘desperate’ for Rangers move

According to the Daily Record, Swansea City midfielder Morgan Whittaker is ‘desperate’ to join Rangers in the January transfer window but reports are conflicting on whether or not the Ibrox club made a £1.5 million bid that the EFL Championship side rejected. The Gers have not signed anyone in this window yet but look to be close to completing deals for Todd Cantwell and Nicolas Raskin.

It was initially claimed that Rangers had made a bid for Whittaker, which Swansea City rejected, but Gers head coach Michael Beale later suggested he was unaware of the club making any bid. However, the former QPR boss was full of praise for the Swans’ star so it does appear there is interest from the club.