A select round-up of the latest news involving Mark Warburton’s Glasgow Rangers and Brendan Rodgers’ Hoops.
Joleon Lescott
A report in the Daily Mail has claimed that Aston Villa defender Joleon Lescott is very interested in a potential move to Rangers.
The 34-year-old held talks with Mark Warburton on Tuesday, and the Mail claims that Villa have agreed to pay up the final year of his contract.
Roberto Di Matteo
Villa boss Roberto Di Matteo has admitted to the Birmingham Mail that Lescott is looking to leave the Championship club this summer, but stopped short of confirming that an Ibrox switch was on the cards.
“Lescott is looking to move on.” he told the Mail.
“Possibly, I don’t know. I read that in the papers as well. I was preparing the game so maybe I’m not up to the latest,” when asked about whether Glasgow was his next destination.
Dorus De Vries
Dorus De Vries has told the Daily Express that he thought that he had ruined his chances of joining Celtic when he sustained an injury on the opening day of Nottingham Forest’s season.
The 35-year-old has joined the Hoops on a two-year deal, but he explained how he feared the move would never take place.
“I was aware of Celtic’s interest when we played Burton Albion, and the thought of the move being wrecked went through my mind straight away when I got the injury,” he told the Express.
Celtic’s Leigh Griffiths
Leigh Griffiths has told the Daily Express that he feels as if he may be Celtic’s Champions League jinx having never got to play in the competition.
The striker joined the club midway through the 2013-14 campaign when they had already missed out on progressing through the group-stages. And having never qualified since, Griffiths suggested that he may be to blame.
“I feel like I am a jinx. Celtic were in the Champions League before I signed,” he told the Express.
Joe Garner’s former Preston North End strike-partner Kevin Davies has told the Evening Times that the 28-year-old would thrive in the atmosphere of an Old Firm game.
The forward is reportedly on the verge of moving to Ibrox, and Davies has backed him for success.
“I think he will relish that game and he has certainly got a feistiness about him and the character to go into that game,” he told the Evening Times.
Finally, Brendan Rodgers has suggested to Celtic’s official website the ideal outcome from the first-leg of their Champions League tie with Hapoel Be’er Sheva.
“The ideal scenario is you don’t concede a goal and you win the game, so that will be the idea coming into it,” he told the club’s official website.
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