Old Firm Transfer Battles Heat Up with Celtic and Rangers
Celtic and Rangers are locked into a familiar summer duel, this time on the continent and in the boardroom rather than across Glasgow’s white line.
Old Firm eye same Serie A winger
Both clubs have turned their attention to Italy, where Frosinone winger Fares Ghedjemis has emerged as a shared target. The 23-year-old, who represents Algeria, fits the modern wide-forward profile: direct, versatile, and with scope to grow in value.
There is a snag. Ghedjemis is understood to favour staying in Serie A and using Frosinone as a springboard to a bigger Italian club. Celtic and Rangers may be circling, but right now they are trying to tempt a player whose heart, at least for the moment, appears set on climbing the ladder where he is.
It is the kind of tug-of-war that has defined recent Old Firm windows: same market, same names, different pitches.
Celtic dig in over Engels and fend off Premier League interest
Across the city’s east end, Celtic are bracing themselves for a flurry of interest in key assets and top targets.
The Scottish champions have set a firm stance on Arne Engels. Having already rejected an offer from West Ham for the 22-year-old, Celtic are understood to want £25m for the midfielder, who still has two years left on his contract. That is not a negotiating whisper. It is a price tag nailed to the door.
Former Celtic striker Chris Sutton has already questioned why Engels would entertain a move to the Championship with West Ham, highlighting the scale of Celtic’s ambitions and the platform they can offer. For a player of Engels’ age and profile, the choice between a Champions League tilt and second-tier English football is being framed in stark terms.
At the same time, Celtic face a fight to keep one of their own. Fulham have joined Everton in the chase for right-back Alistair Johnston. The Canadian has grown into a key figure, and Sutton has been blunt on that front as well, insisting Celtic simply cannot sell him before their Champions League play-off matches. Lose Johnston now and the back line goes into Europe lighter, weaker, and needlessly exposed.
The pressure on Celtic’s recruitment department is obvious: hold the line on outgoings while trying to add quality that matches the club’s European aspirations.
Baur pushing for Parkhead move
Not every transfer story around Celtic is a tug-of-war. Some are more straightforward.
Mika Baur, the 22-year-old German midfielder at Paderborn, has his heart set on a move to Glasgow. He wants Celtic, and he wants the move quickly. That kind of clarity is rare in a window full of agents, clauses, and half-chances.
For Celtic, Baur represents a different sort of opportunity: a player actively pushing to join, at an age where he can be moulded into the club’s style and potentially sold on at a premium. The desire is there. The question now is whether the clubs can move at the pace the player is demanding.
Rangers plan rebuild – but exits must come first
On the other side of the city, Rangers are preparing for a significant reshaping of their squad. Up to four new signings are being lined up as they look to inject fresh energy and address the gaps that cost them last season.
There is a catch. Before the new faces arrive, a wave of departures is likely. Rangers are expected to sanction a series of exits, and that could include the sale of one of their most valuable assets, Nico Raskin. Letting go of a prize midfielder would be a bold call, but it would also free up funds and space to accelerate the rebuild.
It is a delicate balance: trim enough to refresh, but not so much that the core of the side is ripped out just as the competitive fixtures pile up.
Early snag for new signing Makhanya
Rangers’ planning for Europe has already hit a bump. New signing Olwethu Makhanya may miss the Europa League tie against Jagiellonia Bialystok because of a visa issue.
For a club trying to bed in fresh signings and hit the ground running in continental competition, that is more than an administrative irritation. It disrupts rhythm, selection, and the manager’s early-season plans.
So the picture is clear. Celtic are fighting to keep their best, demanding top dollar for their targets, and trying to close deals for players desperate to join. Rangers are plotting a sizeable overhaul, but only once they have cashed in on key names and navigated early setbacks.
In a city where transfer windows often feel like extensions of derby day, the next few weeks will tell a simple story: who builds a squad ready to dominate Scotland – and who hands the other side the first advantage of the season.
