Scotland star is 'great' Rangers transfer option and Serie A talent has gut feeling about Celtic switch
A round-up of key January transfer headlines from Rangers and Celtic
Under-fire Rangers boss Philippe Clement responded to the board's backing by delivering a 3-1 home victory against the league’s basement side St Johnstone.
Goals from Hamza Igamane, Vaclav Cerny and Mohamed Diomande helped the Light Blues secure a comfortable victory and reduce the gap between themselves and Celtic to 15 points. Meanwhile, runway leaders Celtic were forced to show plenty of fight against Ross County as they scored three late goals to secure a 4-1 victory, in a match which was much less one sided than the scoreline suggested.
A brace from Kyogo Furuhashi and goals from Arne Engels and Luke McCowan proved vital on an afternoon where Brendan Rdogers praised his side’s ‘mentality and resilience.’ Both sides have important midweek tests to come as Celtic travel to Dundee and Rangers play host to an Aberdeen side in free fall after an 11-game winless streak.
Ahead of this week’s round of fixtures, we take a look at the main transfer headlines from both Glasgow sides.
Rangers chances of signing 12-time international
Rangers are in the mix to sign former Hibs central defender Ryan Porteous in the January transfer window and are ‘desperate’ to get a deal over the line, according to a claim via Football Insider.
The outlet states that Rangers are desperate to strengthen their defensive options after an injury crisis, which has seen John Souttar, Leon Balogun, Dujon Sterling and Neraysho Kasanwirjo all pick up injuries. Former England goalkeeper Paul Robinson adds that Rangers are the perfect fit for Porteous and claims the 25-year-old would seamlessly slot back into the Premiership due to his experience with Hibs.
Robinson explained: “He didn’t play against Sheffield United, but played in the previous two games. Watford have now dropped to ninth, but under Tom Cleverly they seem to be doing okay, and if he’s playing, you wonder why he [Porteous] wants out.
“If he does want out, then Rangers are a great option for him. I think with that amount of time left on his contract, as daft as it sounds, there’s obviously going to be a fee involved and it depends what’s going on at Rangers.
“He’s a good fit, a good centre-back, Scottish international, playing regularly in the Championship and knows the Scottish Premier League very, very well. Rangers are desperate for a new centre-back and he’s a great fit. But they can’t always have what they want because they can’t afford it, and that’s the situation I think they might be in at the moment.”
Celtic push to land £12m Serie A winger
Scottish Premiership pacesetters Celtic have emerged as the leading contenders to make a move for long-term target Gustav Isaksen this January.
Italian outlet Lalaziosiamonoi understands the Hoops are huge admirers of the six-time Danish international, who has racked up 62 appearances since moving to the Italian capital.
Isaksen is valued at around £12m, meaning he would command a club-record fee if he was to move to Parkhead.
However, the same outlet adds that Isaksen has received no offers as of yet and states that he is not yet convinced about the prospect of leaving Serie A for the Scottish Premiership.