Rangers have reportedly scrapped a deal to bring Jake Hastie to Ibrox.
Celtic just beat Rangers 2-1 at Parkhead days ago, and they should now be looking to pounce for a player their bitter rivals wanted at Ibrox.
Having asserted their dominance over Rangers once again, Celtic are set to win the Scottish Premiership title, but boss Neil Lennon – expected to land the job permanently – faces a rebuild this summer.
Oliver Burke and Timothy Weah will be leaving at the end of their loan deals, and whilst Maryan Shved will be starting his Celtic career this summer, adding another wide man with a knowledge of the Scottish game would be ideal.
In February, The Scottish Sun reported that Celtic had joined Rangers in the race to sign Motherwell winger Jake Hastie, who has grabbed headlines having hit six goals in 11 games for his side since returning from a loan at Alloa Athletic.
The 20-year-old is out of contract this summer, and The Glasgow Evening Times now claim that Rangers agreed a pre-contract move in principle with the winger – but have now scrapped the deal having grown frustrated at attempting to officially finalise a move.
That leaves Hastie back on the market ahead of his contract expiring, and this is now the perfect chance for Celtic to embarrass their bitter Old Firm rivals by swooping for Hastie, getting a deal for the youngster over the line when Rangers couldn’t.
A speedy, athletic winger with a superb left foot, Hastie has huge potential and could become a real star of the Scottish game if his displays in 2019 are anything to go by, and that’s exactly the kind of player Celtic have historically been interested in.
Hastie fits the bill perfectly for Celtic, as he wouldn’t be thrust into a starting role given James Forrest’s role on the right, but he can progress gradually before heading into a regular starting for Celtic – which may just show Rangers what they’ve missed out on.
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