La Liga defender ‘turned down’ chance to join Celtic as Rangers ‘missed opportunity’ on bargain target

Celtic and Rangers head into international break in contrasting form, with the defending champions sitting four points clear of their fourth-placed rivals at the top of the Scottish Premiership table.

It has been a poor start to the new campaign for Michael Beale’s side after losing two of their opening four league games and missing out on Champions League group stage qualification. The Hoops were also knocked out of the Viaplay Cup and have a lenghty injury list to contend with.

The summer transfer window might be over, but there has been plenty of spill over since Deadline Day. Here are the latest Celtic and Rangers news headlines on Wednesday, September 6:

Rangers ‘missed opportunity’ on bargain transfer target

Rangers missed out on a bargain transfer fee for one-time target Josh Tymon after he completed a Deadline Day move from Stoke City to EFL Championship rivals Swansea.

The 24-year-old left-back, who was linked with a move to Ibrox last summer before the club splashed out £5million injury-prone for Turkish international Ridvan Yilmaz, was available for around £2m.

The former England youth international opted for a move to Wales after the Ibrox side decided against re-igniting their interest in the player, with Tymon putting pen to paper a three-year contract with the Swans.

La Liga defender ‘turned down’ chance to join Celtic

Sevilla sporting director Victor Orta claims promising young defensive prospect Kike Salas turned down the chance to sign for Celtic on loan this summer.

The Hoops were seeking defensive reinforcement before the window closed last week amid an injury crisis and ended up signing Liverpool star Nathaniel Phillips on a six-month loan deal.

However, the reigning Europa League champions were supposedly prepared to allow Salas to head to Parkhead, but he opted to stay in Spain. The 21-year-old made his La Liga debut last year and had agreed a new contract until 2026 before being shipped out to second tier side CD Tenerife last season.

Orta has revealed the player rejected a move to Glasgow, stating: “Kike had the chance to go to top foreign teams like Celtic and Red Bull Salzburg but didn’t. We have many young players who will be very good, but we have to be patient about their development.

“Kike is a great example of a kid who has come through our youth system and many teams wanted him on loan. I had practically every club in the second division asking for him, so he is very valued and we need to show more faith in these players. We can’t be talking about home-grown talent and, when the home-grown talent plays, always questioning them.”