Michael Stewart cites two transfers Rangers should've made as Celtic told what they have to do to sign Chelsea ace
A look at the latest news from both Rangers and Celtic as both clubs prepare for Europa League fixtures
The former Hearts and Hibs man has lambasted Rangers’ window while Celtic are told they might struggle to sign former Liverpool and Arsenal transfer target.
Ibrox had the potential to be a cauldron of toxicity on Saturday evening in their match against Hibs, however first half goals from Nico Raskin and Bojan Miovski eased the Ibrox faithful’s nerves. In a 2-0 win, one of Rangers’ star men on the day was new left back, Jayden Meghoma, who replaced Jefte in the summer window. However, former Hearts captain turned pundit, Michael Stewart believes the Govan side should’ve delved into the SPFL Premiership market instead.
On the other side of the city, Brendan Rodgers’ side hammered Partick Thistle. Goals from Yang Hyun-jun, Liam Scales, Sebastian Tounetki and Luke McCowan secured the victory for The Celts, who maintained focus on the game despite unrest in the stands. Tounetki looks to be a real find for Rodgers as the winger has looked sharp in both his appearances so far. That being said, Celtic are still on the lookout to strengthen out wide in January.
As both sides now gear up for Europa League football, here’s a look at the latest news coming out of Ibrox and Celtic Park.
Meghoma fee could’ve been more ‘wisely spent’
Former Manchester United midfielder, Michael Stewart believes Rangers missed a trick in the transfer window by signing Meghoma and suggested two better options for Russell Martin. The pundit was speaking on Premier Sports’ Scottish Football Social Club alongside former Ger, Alan Hutton.
He said: “Nobody can convince me that whatever you’ve spent on a loan fee for a 19-year-old wouldn’t have been more wisely spent on a James Penrice or a Greg Taylor. They would be your player, they’re Scottish, which is definitely a help when it comes to European football, and have an actual resale value for Rangers.”
Despite a shock Rangers link in the summer, Taylor opted not to cross the divide and ended up signing for Greek giants, PAOK. Meanwhile, Penrice took a similar approach as he swapped Edinburgh for Athens during the window, moving from Hearts to AEK.
‘Huge wages’ an obstacle for Celtic signing Chelsea star
Celtic have been linked with a January move for out of favour Chelsea winger, Raheem Sterling. The four-time Premier League winner opted to stay in West London this summer, but has been training with the B team after a fallout with manager, Enzo Maresca. Football Insider’s Pete O’Rourke believes The Hoops will struggle to cover the 30-year old’s wages.
He said: “the problem with Raheem Sterling and any potential move away is his huge wages. I think he’s the highest paid player at Chelsea, still on £300,000-a-week so, look, Celtic aren’t going to get anywhere near those wages. They could only probably contribute to a small percentage of that as well and how long is it going to take for Raheem Sterling to be up to speed and be ready to play regular first team football if he’s totally frozen out of things right now?
“He’s not played any football since his spell at Arsenal last season and even then that didn’t go very well. So yeah, I would say a move is highly unlikely right now for Raheem Sterling to Celtic. I think, obviously at Celtic, we expect maybe that they might make a few moves in the January window having had a bit of an underwhelming summer window. So, I think a deal for Raheem Sterling would be highly unlikely.”