Moment Panathinaikos fans take over Irish bar and sit in Glasgow street ahead of crunch Rangers clash
Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)
PANATHINAIKOS fans have been spotted enjoying themselves ahead of tonight's £40m Champions League crunch versus Rangers at Ibrox.
The Athens outfit are renowned for their passionate supporters and a group of their followers have made themselves at home in Glasgow's Merchant City ahead of the clash.
Sign up for the Rangers newsletter
Sign up
2
Fans gather in the street outside Connolly's Irish bar
2
The fans go wild
Russell Martin is kicking off his reign as Rangers boss with his first game against Panathinaikos in a crunch Champions League qualifier.
And the Greek fans are clearly up for it - with footage shared on social media by Greek outlet Gazzetta showing fans sitting and kneeling down in the STREET then going wild as they performed terracing chants outside Connolly's Irish Bar on Bell Street in the city.
It's an establishment usually hugely popular with followers of Celtic and the travelling Greek fans - whose side also wear green and white and have a shamrock for their badge - clearly making themselves feel at home.
It was captioned with the words: "Panathinaikos fans are going wild in Glasgow!"
Both Panathinaikos and Rangers have three qualifying rounds to get past to reach the moneyspinning all-new Champions League 'league' phase for the first time.
The winners of the tie will face either Servette or Viktoria Plzen in the next round with the likes of Club Brugge or Benfica potentially waiting in the playoff round.
Premier League scouts, meanwhile, will be in attendance at Ibrox tonight to watch over a target who is attracting serious transfer interest, it's being claimed.
Star right-back Giorgos Vagiannidis is expected to start for Rui Vitoria tonight and he'll be hoping to put on a show in front of admirers.
According to Prasinoforos, scouts from the likes of Wolves and Everton among other clubs will be watching the action in Govan to assess the 23-year-old.
They could also have their eyes on at least one Rangers star, though, as Everton have recently expressed interest in a current Gers ace.
Rangers AREN'T READY for Champions League qualifiers Plus latest transfer news REVEALED
Hamza Igamane is believed to be on the radar of the Merseyside club, with other Premier League sides reportedly keeping tabs on him as well.
Keep up to date with ALL the latest news and transfers at the Scottish Sun football page
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Evening Standard
7 minutes ago
- Evening Standard
Arsenal FC: Viktor Gyokeres shirt number confirmed as new striker picks iconic squad spot
While he caught the eye of top clubs across Europe by contributing to 67 goals in 52 Sporting appearances last season, some are concerned he will not be able to replicate that form in the Premier League.
Metro
7 minutes ago
- Metro
Newcastle United plot move for £50m Chelsea striker to replace Alexander Isak
Newcastle United are interested in a deal to sign Chelsea striker Nicolas Jackson as a replacement for Alexander Isak, according to reports. Eddie Howe's side have ramped up plans to sign a new forward after Isak told the club he wanted to leave St James' Park in the summer window. Isak has been strongly linked with a move to Premier League champions Liverpool, who are believed to be plotting a massive offer for the Swede. Newcastle are considering a number of players to replace Isak and have now added Jackson to their list of potential options, the Daily Mail report. Jackson, who scored 10 Premier League goals in 30 games last term, has also attracted interest from Manchester United ahead of the new season. Wake up to find news on your club in your inbox every morning with Metro's Football Newsletter. Sign up to our newsletter and then select your team in the link we'll send you so we can get football news tailored to you. The 24-year-old Senegal international has been at Stamford Bridge since June 2023, with the Blues paying a £32m fee to sign him from Villarreal. It's believed that Chelsea want around £50m in order to let Jackson leave the west London club, with the player under contract until 2033. Jackson has played a total of 81 games for Chelsea to date across all competitions, producing 30 goals and 12 assists. It was reported in June that Italian side Juventus had made contact with Jackson's representatives and were considering a bid for the player. Arsenal have also been linked to Chelsea striker Jackson this summer – and the same is true for AC Milan – as well as Aston Villa. Chelsea have brought in two new strikers this summer with Liam Delap arriving from Ipswich and Joao Pedro coming in from Brighton. That has called into question their plans for Jackson, who now faces a lot of competition up front and may well have fallen down the pecking order. It should be noted, though, that Jackson is not the only striker Newcastle are looking at as a potential replacement for wantaway star Isak. More Trending Ollie Watkins is thought to be a possible option for Newcastle, although it remains to be seen if Aston Villa would allow him to join a top-flight rival. Newcastle are also weighing up a move for Brentford forward Yoane Wissa, who scored 19 Premier League goals in 35 games last season. The Magpies have made an enquiry for RB Leipzig striker Benjamin Sesko too. MORE: Everton make surprise £31m offer for Chelsea and Liverpool transfer target MORE: Arsenal star agrees shock exit ahead of Viktor Gyokeres' £63m arrival MORE: Ruben Amorim drops biggest hint yet that Man Utd aren't signing a striker
The Independent
7 minutes ago
- The Independent
Inside Arsenal's move for Viktor Gyokeres - and why he will change the title race
When Arsenal finally accelerated plans to get a striker this summer, they had one fixed line. That was not to go above £65m. Such a figure might make it sound like they weren't that serious about a striker - and there have been some questions about the exact level of the talented Viktor Gyokeres - but then this wasn't quite about getting the striker anymore. It was about options, and having enough to finally win the title. This is the defining trait of Arsenal's summer so far, which is that Mikel Arteta is determined to address the key flaws of last season. Having claimed 89 points in 2023-24, Arsenal fell away because they didn't have enough depth, with overuse ultimately leading to fitness issues, and not enough forward options. Their benches at the end of the season were often strikingly thin, resulting in the attack becoming overly dependent on Martin Odegaard and Bukayo Saka. That in turn made Arsenal easier to predict, which only accentuated their problems. So, Arteta has already brought in more bodies, which is why Cristhian Mosquera and Noni Madueke have signed. They alleviate pressure in terms of wear. Next is the pressure he wants to exert on opposition. It isn't exactly a new point to say Arsenal haven't been the overwhelming all-angle attacking force they were over 2022-23 and in the 2023-24 run-in, which opposition coaches genuinely used to marvel at. The aberration is really because Arteta generally used the same core players throughout those periods, which was never going to be sustainable. That's also why there may be some other value in signing a £65m-level forward, if they can't get an absolute £150m guarantee like Alexander Isak, with the Newcastle star now pushing for a move after the Gunners settled on Gyokeres. The manager obviously doesn't want to discard Kai Havertz. Arteta loves him. If that surprises some of the German's detractors, it is because Havertz's understanding of the manager's pressing system is up there with anyone else in the squad. He gets it. That is why Arteta has balked at buying other forwards in the past. It's not just about goals. It's about how integrated the pressing triggers are. If one goes wrong, it all breaks down. Arteta feels it's pointless if that system is disrupted, which is really the source of so many goals. Arsenal did get 91 in 38 league games across 2023-24 with Havertz fit. This signing is designed to complement Havertz. Arteta won't have to overly lean on him. There'll be another option, offering more tactical solutions for different challenges. That is one of the driving ideas behind Arteta's entire approach after all: tactical variety, to the point that Arsenal are very difficult to prepare for. One of the reasons he has had an almost mocked fixation on midfielders is because - a classic disciple of the Basque/Spanish school - he wants infinite possible configurations in the brain centre of the team. It's why he was so insistent on a player as tactically astute as Martin Zubimendi. The same, belatedly, applies to the attack. There are big plans for Max Dowman, who can play as a 10 or out wide, and is already performing like a first-teamer in training. Senior players are marvelling at his football brain and how quickly he executes what he is told. If Arteta can then add Eberechi Eze or another winger to Madueke and Gyokeres, he doesn't just have more bodies and crucial back-up for Saka, he has multiple angles of attack. Arsenal could come at you from anywhere. That would be quite a shift. The Gyokeres signing also signals a shift in another way. It emphasises the new power of sporting director Andrea Berta. That can be divined in how abruptly Arsenal changed plans. The club had been working on Leipzig's Benjamin Sesko for 18 months before Berta arrived. The Slovenian's agent had been at the club several times. Arsenal had spoken to his camp about how he'd fit with the team, even how he'd settle in London. Sesko initially resisted moving last summer because of how impressed he was by the 5-0 win over Chelsea in April 2024, particularly by Havertz. Sesko felt he needed more time to develop to properly make an impact. Arsenal were content with this, and thought they had an agreement with Leipzig that he would move this summer. The club still looked at other options, naturally, and Gyokeres was an obvious choice given his goals for Sporting CP. Arsenal's analytics staff had Gyokeres and Sesko at the same level right now - albeit with one caveat. While this was probably Gyokeres' ceiling, at 27, Sesko had the potential to go much higher. They could be talking about a future Isak. The staff were close to unanimous in going for Sesko, although Berta had some reservations. He wondered whether a £65m basic price was too much, and kept suggesting Gyokeres, as well as Ollie Watkins and Goncalo Ramos as alternatives. A more classic school of the sporting director, Berta is said to still value relationships and eyewitness assessment more than analytics. So, once Leipzig started dragging negotiations, Berta pushed to switch. The decision is all the more striking since it would have been much more in keeping with the modern Arsenal way to go for the future, rather than the now. Things have changed. That isn't to say Sesko is a guarantee, and even the current staff think he is rough around the edges. What's more, they are all convinced by Gyokeres' quality. They think he brings a lot that Arsenal didn't previously have, as well as a great attitude. There are still some red flags. No English club, not even promoted sides, took the gamble when he was leaving Coventry City in 2023. This summer, Arsenal didn't have that much competition. Some of the latter is because clubs had some technical reservations and feel he takes too long to get a shot off. Some is because most of his goals have come in the Portuguese league, and that at one of the big three. Such records don't generally have much translation to the Premier League, as has been witnessed with Darwin Nunez. Whereas only one player has enjoyed 20-goal seasons in both the Portuguese league and Premier League, Jimmy Hasselbaink, four have managed it from the Bundesliga. That isn't to say it should be the rule. Bruno Fernandes has proven that. While some have concerns that a club as supreme in recruitment as Brighton let Gyokeres go, that was more down to his level of development in 2021 and the fact that there wasn't yet a clear pathway for him. They did want Gyokeres to sign a new contract, and felt he had huge potential. They weren't yet completely convinced by him but 'weren't unconvinced,' one source at the Seagulls maintains. Tony Bloom was still disappointed to lose him, because his data was good. Staff also liked his attitude and saw a huge ambition. The data from Portugal is now even better, but the question remains over how much can be translated. Gyokeres, for his part, is super-driven to make this happen in England. The general view among the game's more respected recruitment staff is also that, at a total of £64m (€73.5m) - £55.3m (€63.5m) up front, with £8.7m (€10m) in add-ons - in a market where strikers are at a premium, it's worth the signing. That also raises the other big question about this. One reason that Arsenal have such a fixed line is because the Kroenkes are insistent on financial sustainability, and don't want to ever be running close to the edge on PSR. It means the club go harder in negotiations, and have to be that bit more calculated in the market. They have had to make the budget stretch. That can frustrate Arteta, and the greater cost could be proven if Liverpool's anticipated €80m expenditure on Hugo Ekitike again makes the difference... or they really do end up going all out for Isak. What might the Arsenal manager be thinking then? That might well shift things in another way.
