The latest transfer news and rumours surrounding Celtic and Rangers on Saturday morning

The business end of the summer transfer window is just around the corner as Rangers and Celtic aim to strengthen their respective squads in time for the new Scottish Premiership season.

Russell Martin’s Ibrox rebuild is gathering pace and there could be more movement in the near future, while Brendan Rodgers has acknowledged his Hoops squad needs reinforcements - and fast.

Here, we’ve rounded up some of the latest transfer headlines for both clubs:

Man who wanted to buy Celtic in savage takedown of Hoops star

A former top Scottish football league chief has labelled current Celtic star Daizen Maeda “truly awful” after watching the Hoops crash to a 5-1 defeat to Ajax in the Como Cup on Thursday night.

Roger Mitchell - the chief executive of the former SPL who later wanted to buy Celtic - was critical of the Japanese international as a “technical forward” and also questioned Anthony Ralston’s contribution to Brendan Rodgers’ side.

He wrote on X: “I can’t remember the last time I saw @CelticFC play live. I think it was the Tony Watt Barcelona win. So there’s a lot of players I’ve only ever seen on TV. Until yesterday.

“Meada for example runs a great deal but as a technical forward footballer he is truly awful. Ralston?”

Russell Martin confirms long-held desire to sign Crystal Palace ace

Russell Martin has confessed to being a huge admirer of Rangers-linked winger Jesurun Rak-Sakyi – revealing he previously tried to sign him while he was Southampton boss.

Reports emerged on Thursday that the Light Blues have made the first move to sign the Crystal Palace outcast with a loan bid tabled that included a £10 million option to buy the 22-year-old.

It's claimed that first offer was rejected by the English Premier League side, but rumours suggest Rangers haven't been put off and could submit with a renewed bid for Rak-Sakyi, who scored seven goals on loan at Sheffield United last season.

With Martin still in the market to bolster his wide options further this summer in an areas currently lacking sufficient depth, it appears a swoop for Rak-Sakyi is likely.

Speaking to Sky Sports, the Englishman confirmed his personal interest in the ex-Chelsea youth prospect stretches back to when he was in charge at St Mary’s – and tried to lure him the south coast club before talks with Palace collapsed.

Asked directly about links to Rak-Sakyi, Martin said: “There's a lot of players we've been linked with. Some wide of the mark, some very close and some spot on. He's a player I like. We tried to take him to Southampton, it didn't quite happen. I like him and the recruitment staff like him, but how far that's gone... I'm not too sure.

“He's a really good player. We look at all sorts of different profiles that we think can help the team, it doesn't necessarily have to be one type of profile. Players are very different. We just need the ones with the right mentality who are desperate to come and play here. We'll see where we end up in four weeks' time.”