Rangers have signed nine players this summer – but Scottish Premiership rivals Celtic want a single deal which would blow them out the water.
While Rangers fans are looking ahead to the new season with a great sense of optimism thanks to some super deals in the transfer market, their Celtic counterparts appear to be worried that the club is standing still.
Steven Gerrard’s Rangers are determined to turn the Scottish top flight into a duopoly again after pulling off nine signings so far, including Premier League trio Stuart Arfield, Jon Flanagan and Connor Goldson.
Celtic, meanwhile, have brought in no new faces although Scott Bain and Odsonne Edouard did turn loan deals into permanent transfers. But could Brendan Rodgers’ side really pull of one single deal that would make all the progress made by Rangers look rather insignificant?
The Sun claims that Celtic are interested in signing Uruguay midfielder Giorgian Di Arrascaeta after Brendan Rodgers instructed scouts to watch him in action for Cruzeiro last season. Di Arrascaeta, by the way, would cost £18 million – a fee that almost doubles Celtic’s current transfer record.
Now 24-year-old Di Arrascaeta, who featured twice for Uruguay in their run to the World Cup quarter finals, is a huge talent and one of the most exciting and creative players in South America. He has the raw potential to be comfortably the most influential attacking player in Scottish football.
The 16-time international even has a nickname in Brazil referring to his penchant for nutmegging red-faced opponents.
So what a way this would be for Celtic to assert their authority and remind Rangers how far they still have to go.
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