Celtic loanee tipped to attract interest with ‘interesting’ January ahead for Rangers-linked striker
Latest Celtic and Rangers transfer news and rumours as they prepare for their upcoming fixtures
Celtic are back in action next weekend with a home clash against Dundee. The Hoops are joint-top of the Scottish Premiership table along with Motherwell.
Rangers are 4th and have an away trip to St Johnstone up next. Here is a look at some of the latest news and rumours regarding the pair…
Defender latest
Alan Hutton believes Liverpool could invite January offers for Celtic loanee Nat Phillips. The centre-back, who is 26-years-old, has only joined Brendan Rodgers’ side on a six-month temporary deal.
Former player Hutton thinks this may be because his parent club are keen to listen to permannet bids this winter. He has told Football Insider: “From Liverpool’s point of view – do they want to sell him on? Do they want a fee in? Could that happen in January? Was it close to happening in the summer?
“There could be multiple things going on in the background. If he kicks on and does well it could possibly be a permanent move for Celtic we will wait and see.”
Striker update
Hearts striker Lawrence Shankland, who has been linked with Rangers, ended up staying put beyond the deadline of the last transfer window. The 28-year-old has scored 33 goals in his last 56 games for his current club.
Ex-Gers man Ian Black believes January could be interesting for the prolific forward. He has said, as per Football Scotland: “With Shanks you never know. He’ll have interest from elsewhere as well, big clubs down south if he keeps going the way he’s going.
“He’s a good lad as well and has got his head screwed on and goes about his job the right way. “People will have been watching him and maybe come January and he’s still scoring goals, who knows what will happen.
“Obviously Hearts will be delighted that they’ve kept him past the window. But come January, it’ll be interesting if he keeps scoring goals.”
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Celtic duo watch on as Japan pile even more pressure on Germany boss Hansi Flick – but they may get chance in Genk
The former Bayern Munich boss has now overseen four defeats in the last five games, which comes on the back of a group-stage exit at last year’s World Cup. The pressure is increasing on the 58-year-old, with director of the Germany national team Rudi Voller noticeably evasive when asked about his manager’s future. Voller said in a television interview, reported by German newspaper De Bild: “We should collect ourselves first. There will be a bit of training tomorrow. Then we play against France. Afterwards, we should first reflect and think about what happens next. Let’s see.”
Japan, whose 2-1 victory in Qatar sent Germany home from the World Cup, went ahead through Junya Ito before Leroy Sane levelled. But second-half goals from Ayase Ueda, Takuma Asano and Ao Tanaka saw Japan coast to victory at the Volkswagen Arena, where the crowd turned on their side at full-time. Flick replaced long-time boss Joachim Low in August 2021 but has won less than half of his 25 games in charge.
While Celtic duo Maeda and Furuhashi were both left on the bench by Japan manager Hajime Moriyasu, both players may get their chance to play for the Blue Samurai before the international window is over, with the Japanese due to take on Turkey in a friendly on Tuesday at Cegeka Arena in Genk, Belgium.
