Leicester City 'in race' for Celtic's Matt O'Riley after £30m exit as Rangers 'accept' Cyriel Dessers offers

Celtic and Rangers are both back to work as pre-season preparations continue ahead of the 2024/25 Scottish Premiership season. Brendan Rodgers’ side enjoyed their break after securing a third consecutive title to finish eight points clear of Rangers, who will be looking to improve their fortunes after slipping up in the final months. Both sides have been in friendly action over the weekend, with Celtic drawing 1-1 against Ayr United on Friday evening before Rangers beat Hamilton Accies in a behind-closed-doors game on Saturday.

Both Old Firm outfits will soon jet off for their respective pre-season tours, with Celtic heading to the USA while Rangers will go to the Netherlands. But while the players work on their fitness, those behind the scenes will be focused on transfer business and there is plenty to do at both Parkhead and Ibrox. Below, GlasgowWorld has taken a look at the latest from both sides of the city.

More O’Riley interest

Leicester City have emerged as the latest team to reportedly express their interest in Celtic’s Matt O’Riley. The Scottish Sun reports that new Foxes manager Steve Cooper has identified O’Riley as the perfect replacement for their own big-money exit, Kiernan Dewsbury Hall, who joined Chelsea in a deal worth £30million towards the end of June.

Despite winning promotion to the Premier League, Leicester have been plagued by financial issues and are expected to receive a points deduction for past financial breaches. They were forced to cash in on Dewsbury-Hall before the June 30 accounting deadline but can now look to replace him, with O’Riley’s attacking threat a major pull for those in charge at the King Power Stadium.

O’Riley is on the radar of several top-flight clubs across Europe, following an outstanding season in which he registered 18 goals and 13 assists in 37 league appearances. Celtic are thought to want a Scottish record fee of over £25m for the 23-year-old, with Brighton, Southampton and Atletico Madrid also thought to be weighing up moves.

Dessers offers

Rangers are thought to be willing to lose Cyriel Dessers this summer and have reportedly accepted multiple offers for the out-of-favour forward. Ibrox Noise reports that Dessers is expected to miss out on next week’s pre-season trip to the Netherlands as the club don’t want to risk injury ahead of his likely exit.

No specific teams are mentioned in the report but there is thought to be long-standing interest from clubs in Spain, France and Greece, with Rangers keen to avoid the risk of injury which would throw any move into doubt. The club are expected to make a profit on the £4.5m they spent on Dessers a year ago, with offers said to be closer towards £6m.

Rangers manager Philippe Clement is keen on signing a new striker this summer but is thought to be operating on a ‘one in, one out’ policy in that area. A swift sale of ressers would therefore allow the 50-year-old to start working on bringing someone in.