Scotland must wait until next month at the earliest to secure their Euro 2024 place after Norway beat Georgia 2-1 in Oslo, with Steve Clarke’s men needing just a point to qualify for next summer’s finals.
Having won their first five qualifying matches and sitting top of Group A with 15 points, the Scots remain in a strong position with the top two nations from each section securing their ticket to Germany.
A 3-1 friendly defeat to England at Hampden Park last night acted as a timely reminder of the improvement still required to compete with the top nations. Meanwhile, Celtic and Rangers are gearing up for a return to Scottish Premiership action this weekend with the Hoops entertaining Dundee and the Gers travelling to Perth to face St Johnstone.
Here are the latest Celtic and Rangers transfer news headlines on Wednesday, September 13:
Bailey Rice has opted to extend his stay with Rangers after several English clubs expressed an interest in the highly-rated midfielder this summer.
The hugely promising 16-year-old, who made his first-team debut in a 3-0 league win over Livingston last season and featured again during pre-season, has signed a contract extension through to May 2026.
The newly-promoted Scotland Under-19 international has recently combined his involvement with Michael Beale’s squad on a daily basis with a number of appearances for the club’s B-team this campaign as part of a varied games programme following the decision to withdraw from the Lowland League.
Beale told the Rangers official website: “We are delighted that Bailey has extended his contract. This is recognition of the development he has made since joining the club and in making the step-up to the first team during the pre-season period.
“Bailey is aware that he has a long road ahead in terms of further improvement, and maintaining the same excellent mentality will be key to him fulfilling his potential.”
Al-Ittihad manager Nuno Espirito Santo has come under fire for his decision to sign Jota from Celtic.
The former Wolves boss has faced fierce criticism over the costly transfer of the Portuguese winger who made the move to Saudi Arabia over the summer in a deal worth around £25million.
However, a lack of regular game time - made just five appearances and scored one goal against Wl-Wehda after replacing Karim Benzema - has led to rumouts suggesting he could move to the United Arab Emirates Pro League on loan, with the deadline for transfer business open until September 21.
Reports at the weekend claimed Jota would prefere a move to Turkish Super Lig giants Fenerbahce on a temporary deal and Saudi insider Ahmed Atif claimed the transfer was comparable to the signing of Helder Costa from Wolves previously.
Atif explained: “Nuno Santo is the one who bears responsibility for the mistake of excluding the player. He asked for Jota by name. It is a mistake which he was repeated after excluding Helder Costa in the past, and these cost the club.”