Chief executive predicts Celtic and Rangers interest in Vaclav Hladky

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Rangers may be in the market for a goalkeeper this summer – and so may Celtic.

Vaclav Hladky should be on the radars of Rangers and Celtic this summer – at least that’s what St Mirren chief executive Tony Fitzpatrick has told the Daily Record.

St Mirren saw off Dundee United on penalties in their playoff decider, meaning they’ll be staying in the Scottish Premiership for another season.

In an absolute nail-biter, goalkeeper Hladky was the hero, saving three spot kicks in the shootout to hand St Mirren the victory.

Hladky only signed for St Mirren in January, penning an 18-month deal from Slovan Liberec in his native Czech Republic.

The 28-year-old had struggled for playing time with Slovan and Zbrojovka Brno before heading to Scotland, so he’s something of a late bloomer given his success with St Mirren.

Hladky is unsurprisingly attracting interest off the back of his displays, and St Mirren chief Fitzpatrick has taken a surprising step by predicting that Celtic and Rangers will want Hladky.

Both teams should be in the market for a goalkeeper this summer, and whilst Fitzpatrick wants to keep Hladky at St Mirren, he believes he’s capable of playing at a very high level, feeling that Celtic or Rangers would be ideal for him.

“There are teams from Russia and other countries already interested in signing Vaclav and I’m not surprised as he is top quality,” said Fitzpatrick. “He’s capable of playing a level much higher than the Premiership. I would think Celtic and Rangers must be looking at him too and thinking he could do a job for them. He’s a big-game player and such a find for us. We want to keep him. The boy loves it here. He’s got a year on his contract so we want to keep him and even extend his deal.”

“Gems like this don’t come around too often. So we want him to be playing for us next season. We’d rather keep him for a year than give him away this summer for a small fee. We’d be looking for at least six figures. Keepers are specialist players like strikers. The good ones are worth their weight in gold and Vaclav is up there with the best. He’s a great young man and the impression I get is he’s not in a huge rush to go,” he added.