Japanese attacking midfielder on Celtic’s ‘radar’ as Rangers have bid for 15-goal USA World Cup star ‘rejected’

Celtic have wrapped up the Scottish Premiership title with four fixtures remaining and head to Ibrox on Saturday for the final Glasgow derby showdown of the season again Rangers who already have one eye on the summer.

As the end of the 2022/23 season nears, transfer news stories continue to make the headlines. Here is the latest transfer news relating to both Glasgow clubs on Friday, May 12:

Japanese attacking midfielder on Celtic’s ‘radar’

Celtic manager Ange Postecoglou could be eyeing another raid on the Japanese market with attacking midfielder Ryotaro Ito reportedly on the club’s radar.

The 25-year-old has played a leading role in helping Albirex Niigata return to the J-League 1 and is a player the Hoops scouting department have looked at.

Ito previously had a spell at Urawa Red Diamonds where he won a J-League Cup and the AFC Champions League. The Far East is a market Postecoglou knows really well from his time at Yokohama F. Marinos, which has led him to sign as many as SIX players from Japan and South Korea across the last three transfer windows.

Ito is viewed as a younger option who would add further competition to the Australian’s Treble-chasing squad in the middle-to-front areas of the pitch after being named as one of the top performers in the J2 League last year.

Rangers have bid for 15-goal USA World Cup star ‘rejected’

Rangers are claimed to have had a £7million offer rejected for prolific Antalyaspor striker Haji Wright, according to reports in Turkey.

The physical 25-year-old frontman, who stands at 6 ft 3’, has scored an impressive 16 goals in 26 appearances in all competitions this season and his form has alerted a number of clubs.

Turkish journalist Salim Manav claims the Ibrox side tabled a package for Wright including a windfall of any future sale which was knocked back by the Super Lig club who are holding out for an asking price of around £8.5m, which they hope will spark a bidding war for the United States international.

He tweeted: “Rangers made a transfer offer for Haji Wright to Antalyaspor in the form of £7million plus a 15 per cent share from the second sale. Antalyasport did not accept Rangers’ offer. The testimonial expectation for Wright is over 10 million Euros.”

Local media outlet Hurriyet have named Turkish giants Trabzonspor, Fenerbahce and Galatasaray as clubs who are considering an approach.

Wright, who started all of the US national team matches at the FIFA World Cup in Qatar and scored in the last-16 clash against the Netherlands, counts New York Cosmos, Schalke and VVV-Venlo among his former clubs. A potential move for the player could be ramped up in the coming days, with Gers boss Michael Beale eyeing fresh striking options.