Real Betis face crisis ahead of Rangers tie as Spurs manager Postecoglou considers £25m Celtic reunion

Rangers could have been handed an unexpected boost ahead of Thursday’s Europa League opener against Real Betis.

The La Liga club rounded off their preparations for their trip to Ibrox by suffering something of a nightmare night on Saturday as they crashed to a 5-0 defeat at reigning champions Barcelona.

Goals from Joao Felix, Robert Lewandowski, Ferran Torres, Raphinha and Joao Cancelo condemned Manuel Pellegrini’s side to a heavy loss - but there was further bad news for the former Manchester City manager as he was left to contemplate a goalkeeping crisis.

Regular stopper Rui Silva was substituted at half-time after suffering a torn thigh and veteran keeper Claudio Bravo is rated as a major doubt for the game at Ibrox as he continues his recovery from a calf injury.

That means Pellegrini could be forced to name Betis B goalkeeper Fran Vieites in his starting lineup at Ibrox after he stepped up from the fourth tier of Spanish football to make a senior debut when he replaced Silva in Saturday’s defeat.

Postecoglou considers reunion with £25m Celtic star

Celtic forward Daizen Maeda is reportedly a target for Tottenham Hotspur as former Hoops manager Ange Postecoglou considers a reunion with the Japan international.

TEAMtalk have revealed Maeda is one name on Postecoglou’s list of targets as he looks to strengthen his options in the final third after making a promising start to life in North London. Saturday’s dramatic late win against Sheffield United kept Spurs in second place in the English Premier League table as injury-time goals from Richarlison and Dejan Kulusevski gave Postecoglou’s men all three points.

Despite having a number of options in attacking areas, the Aussie boss is keen to reunite with Maeda and Spurs are ‘exploring the conditions of a move’. The report also suggests Celtic will demand a fee in excess of £25m as they look to recoup a similar deal to the one that took Jota to Saudi side Al-Ittihad.