Latest news with #Metinho
Scottish Sun
2 days ago
- Sport
- Scottish Sun
Celtic's potential Champions League play-off opponents revealed as familiar foes could lie in wait
IT'S three weeks until Celtic begin their quest for Champions League qualification. And the picture of the side standing between them and the riches of Europe's premier competition is starting to become a little clearer. Advertisement 3 Celtic got to the knockout phase play-off of the Champions League last season Credit: Getty 3 Basel and Brazilian midfielder Metinho could be one of their potential opponents Credit: Alamy 3 Scotland international Max Johnston plays for Sturm Graz who could face the Hoops Credit: Willie Vass Unlike Rangers, Celtic are in the Champions path of the draw and because of the Scottish co-efficient, they are entered into the Champions League play-off round, meaning it's a straight one-off tie to guarantee qualification. They'll find out on Monday whom they could potentially face as the draw is made for the play-off round. They are seeded so they've been kept apart from Bodo/Glimt. The Norwegian champions reached the semi-finals of last season's Europa League before losing to eventual winners Tottenham. Advertisement Danish champions Copenhagen, Serbian title winners Red Star Belgrade and Hungarian champs Ferencvaros have also been avoided. Although, there is no guarantee these clubs will be in the play-off round with games still to play. Brendan Rodgers' side could face one of FIVE opponents in the play-off round, with two sides already in the draw and three others battling to get there. Celtic could face Basel, captained by former Liverpool star Xherdan Shaqiri. Advertisement Another face familiar to Hoops fans will be striker Albian Ajeti, who left the club in 2023 after an unsuccessful spell, while Rangers lost out in the race to sign their Brazilian midfielder Metinho this summer. The Swiss champions are unseeded and have confirmed their place in the draw. Some Hoops fans may remember their Champions League dreams were ended by Basel in August 2002, but they would go on to become Uefa Cup finalists that season with defeat to Porto in the final in Seville. Another club already in the hat are Austrian Bundesliga champions Sturm Graz. Advertisement Scotland international Max Johnston plays for them. If they are drawn together, it would be the first competitive fixture between the pair. So Basel and Sturm Graz are guaranteed to be in the play-off round, but there are three other places still up for grabs. Three potential opponents are: Israeli outfit Maccabi Tel Aviv, Slovakian side Slovan Bratislava and Qarabag from Azerbaijan but are all in second round qualifying action. Maccabi Tel Aviv secured a 1-1 draw with Cypriot side Pafos last Tuesday. Substitute Elad Madmon netting a 90+10 equaliser in Cyprus. Advertisement Major Mikey Moore Rangers loan doubts & 'strange situation' at Celtic + transfer news Go Ballistic Should they emerge victorious in Israel on Wednesday, they would face the winners of Hamrun Spartans (Malta) v Dynamo Kyiv. The Ukrainians are 3-0 up from the first leg so look likely to get the job done. Therefore, in the third round qualifier, it's looking like Maccabi Tel Aviv v Dynamo Kyiv to fill one of the slots in the play-off round. Two places to go, and Slovan Bratislava are the next possible opponents and they will be familiar to Celtic fans after the Hoops thumped them 5-1 at Celtic Park on matchday one of the Champions League last season. Advertisement Brendan Rodgers' side have been linked with the star striker David Strelec, who played against them last season. Bratislava look in a strong position to qualify for the third round after a 4-0 home win over Bosnian side Zrinjski Mostar in the first leg. Should they get through as expected, they'll come up against the winners of Finnish side KuPS and Kairat Almaty in the third round, with KuPS taking a 2-0 lead over to Kazakhstan for the second leg. Therefore, Bratislava are in the driving seat and likely to face the winner of KuPS and Kairat for a place in the play-off round. Advertisement The final place in the pot could go to Qarabag. The Azerbaijani side are in a commanding position of their tie, with a 3-0 lead against Irish side Shelbourne, heading into the second leg in Baku on Wednesday. If Qarabag can complete the job at home on Wednesday, they'll face either Shkendija or FCSB in the third round qualifier. North Macedonia outfit Shkendija have a 1-0 lead to take with them to Romania for the second leg on Wednesday. Advertisement The third round qualifier looks like Qarabag against either Shkendija or FCSB, with the winner of that tie going into the play-off round as potential opponents for Celtic. Celtic's potential CL play-off opponents Two teams confirmed that could face Celtic are Basel and Sturm Graz. There are three slots left to fill for the play-off round, with teams currently in Champions League qualifiers. Place 1 - teams involved: Maccabi Tel Aviv, Dynamo Kyiv, Pafos, Hamrun Second round qualifiers as it stands: Dynamo Kyiv v Hamrun (3-0 on agg) Maccabi Tel Aviv v Pafos (1-1 on agg) Third round qualifers Hamrun/Dynamo Kyiv vs Pafos/Maccabi Tel Aviv The winner of this tie will go into the play-off round Place 2 teams involved: Slovan Bratislava, Kairat Almaty, KuPS, Zrinjski Mostar Second round qualifiers as it stands: Kairat Almaty v KuPS (0-2 on agg) Zrinjski Mostar v Slovan Bratislava (0-4 on agg) Third round qualifiers KuPS/Kairat Almaty vs Slovan Bratislava/Zrinjski Mostar The winner of this tie will go into the play-off round. Place 3 teams involved: Qarabag, FCSB, Shkendija, Shelbourne Second round qualifiers as it stands: FCSB v Shkendija (0-1 on agg) Qarabag v Shelbourne (3-0 on agg) Third round qualifiers: Shkendija/FCSB vs Shelbourne/Qarabag The winner of this tie goes into the play-off round. Keep up to date with ALL the latest news and transfers at the Scottish Sun football page
Daily Record
17-07-2025
- Sport
- Daily Record
Nico Raskin on Real Betis transfer 'radar' as definitive update emerges over 'Brazilian Paul Pogba'
Betis are hunting midfield replacements for departing duo while Metinho looks to have settled on his next club after Troyes Real Betis are set to test Rangers ' resolve over Nico Raskin, according to a report. The Belgian impressed last term despite Gers falling well short in the title race and ending the season trophyless. That's led to him being linked with moves away from Ibrox and with Raskin two years out from the end of his current contract, the window in which Rangers can realise his maximum value is closing. Now Spanish outlet muchodeporte claim that Betis have Raskin on their radar as they hunt midfield replacements. American international Johnny Cardoso has left for La Liga rivals Atletico Madrid, while William Carvalho looks destined for the exit door as well. The Portuguese international failed to report last week for pre-season testing and could well be on his way to Qatar. The Seville-based club have seemingly identified Raskin as one of a number of replacement options this summer. It would mean forking out a significant fee however, with Gers keen to avoid repeating past mistakes and letting their best players leave for nothing at the end of their deals. One player who won't be arriving at Ibrox is Metinho. The player dubbed the 'Brazilian Paul Pogba' had been linked with the Light Blues and a £4million fee quoted. However, Basel are on the brink of making his switch from Troyes permanent after he helped them win the Swiss Super League title last season. You can get all the news you need on our dedicated Rangers and Celtic pages, and sign up to our newsletters to make sure you never miss a beat throughout the season. We're also onWhatsApp where we bring all the latest breaking news and transfer gossip directly to you phone. Join our Rangers community here and our Celtic community here.
Daily Record
04-07-2025
- Sport
- Daily Record
Rangers on brink of three transfers as Vardy 'keen' and Turgeman price named amid £5m standoff
Russell Martin's side are set to bolster their ranks amid a whirlwind week of deals Rangers are ramping up their business with the first fixture of pre-season just around the corner - and the Champions League qualifiers rapidly approaching. Max Aarons, Joe Rothwell and Emmanuel Fernandez are already in the door alongside Lyall Cameron after the former Dundee player agreed a pre-contract deal last season. But with Russell Martin era set to kick off with the friendly clash against Club Brugge on Sunday before the route to join Europe's elite clubs starts with Panathinaikos more deals are expected. Rangers are on the verge of completing a deal for Luton Town ace Thelo Aasgaard - with the Norwegian international expected to pen a four-year contract. Record Sport understands that the club are finalising the transfer fee that they will payout to the English League One side - which includes a substantial fee and potential add-ons. Wolves defender Nasser Djiga is reportedly also on the brink of agreeing a loan move to Ibrox. Djiga arrived at Molineux from Serbian outfit Red Star Belgrade in February this year for a £10million fee on a five-year deal but has struggled for regular game time. After managing just 65 minutes across his five appearances for Wolves in the Premier League and one FA Cup start, Pereira refused to guarantee the 22-year-old more minutes next term. Sky Sports report that a deal is "close" to being agreed with a medical expected to take place in the coming days. Conor Coady also looks set to arrive with the Leicester Mercury reporting that Leicester City are keen to offload the centre-back. The 32-year-old is in the final year of his deal with reports that the Foxes' are desperate to sell the England international - who is among the highest earners at the club. Sporting director Kevin Thelwell is leading the charge to sign Coady having brought him to Wolves and Everton previously - and he may not be the only ex-Leicester man making a move to Glasgow. Jamie Vardy is now reportedly 'keen" on a move to Ibrox after interest from the Glasgow giants, report The Daily Mail. The Light Blues are said to be among the clubs chasing the 38-year-old after he became a free agent at the end of last season. Russell Martin is in need of a new striker with both Hamza Igamane and Cyriel Dessers potentially heading for the exit. Meanwhile, Swiss champions FC Basel have hit a roadblock in negotiations with FC Troyes over Metinho - opening the door for a switch to Rangers. The Ibrox club were linked with a move for the 22-year-old Brazilian midfielder this week after his successful loan spell with the Swiss champions. He helped them to a Swiss Cup double this season, but his loan spell has expired and he is back at French second tier outfit. Troyes paid £4million to land Metinho four years ago from Fluminense - but reports suggest that a Basel are unwilling to meet the £5million asking price that would make the deal permanent. "A deal is parked, but he absolutely wants to stay and knows it would be good for him."
Scottish Sun
01-07-2025
- Sport
- Scottish Sun
Rangers transfer latest as Igamane eyed for BIG fee, battle for key target intensifies & Rothwell interest emerges
WE'RE now into July and Rangers will be looking to get some more transfer business done before their Champions League qualifiers. With Max Aarons and Lyall Cameron now in the door, Russell Martin will be looking to add further new recruits before Panathinaikos come calling. 10 Joe Rothwell is close to joining Rangers Credit: Getty 10 Rangers are battling Basel for Metinho Credit: Alamy 10 Lille are keen on signing Hamza Igamane Credit: PA 10 There are clubs interested in Mohamed Diomande too Credit: Willie Vass TWO key midfield targets are on Martin's radar as we edge closer to that huge European showdown. But while Gers chiefs look to get deals done, there's also plenty of talk surrounding some big stars the club won't want to lose. Lille have a firm interest in Hamza Igamane and could be willing to part with a sizable fee to land the Moroccan striker. Nicolas Raskin and Mohamed Diomande have also been linked with an exit from Ibrox - could either of them really leave this summer? SunSport's Go Ballistic Transfer Specials are your one-stop this summer for all the latest updates on comings and goings from both Ibrox and Celtic Park. Our head of sport Roger Hannah was back on this week's Rangers episode to give his take on all the current transfer activity in Govan. METINHO Very much a target. He's been on loan at Basel in the Swiss league and they're very keen to keep him form Troyes in the French league. They would need to stump up a bit of money to get him, as would Rangers of course. Maybe a position Rangers will look to strengthen in just in terms of numbers. They've got quality in there with Raskin, Diomande, Connor Barron - who's now a full Scotland international - but I think they'd look to Metinho to add to that. Ex-Rangers supremo David Murray on the club's new owners and why Gio shouldn't have been sacked There's going to be a lot of football played by Rangers this season and July 1 can be a telling day. As well as being closer to the new season, you're into a new financial year and I think a lot of clubs have delayed making transfer moves until this time so that they can put the money onto this year's 'new' accounts. They talk about the player trading model, Lyall Cameron's coming in and they'll hope to sell him on for more. If Metinho comes in they'll look to develop him and sell him on. I don't think it'll exclusively young players like that coming in, I think there'll be different profiles coming in. I think you'll see loan signings, guys with a bit more experience as well coming into that squad to try and give it a bit of balance. It's going to be a fascinating three weeks until kick-off against Panathinaikos. JOE ROTHWELL You know what managers are like, when they go to a new club, how often do they go back and get guys who served them well previously? Joe Rothwell fits into that mould as well. He worked with Russell Martin at Southampton, it's probably a deal that can be rleatively easily done we can imagine. He's not one you'll bring in and get rid of for loads of money further down the line. We spoke about Martin's interest in Flynn Downes who he's worked at in the past, but you were talking a £10million fee for that, you wonder if Joe Rothwell is maybe being targeted as a cheaper option to Flynn Downes, if you like. MOHAMED DIOMANDE You can throw in Raskin and Hamza Igamane as well. YOu can see all of them leaving at some stage, but I'm not sure this is the summer for any of them to be going because I still think there's a bit of development, improvement in all three players. But that's only my opinion - if a club comes in, there was talk of Besiktas looking at Diomande, Lille are clearly looking at Igamane, various teams will be looking at Raskin as well. That's not to say someone comes in with a huge offer Rangers can't turn down but I suspect it might be better for everyone concerned if they had another year at Rangers and went next summer or even in January. 10 HAMZA IGAMANE You see really, really high figures. I had a discussion yesterday about Lennon MIller's future and people talking about 'X' million and 'Y' million. I don't think it's a case of what Lennon Miller's worht, it's what Motherwell can't turn down for Lennon Miller and I think the same applies for Igamane. It's not what people might think he's worth, it's what figure would you reach that Rangers couldn't turn down. I think that given what they paid for Igamane, given that under a couple of managers towards the end of last season he wasn't a first pick. He had great days, he scored the winner at Celtic Park, a smashing goal, he's had really good days, there was a hat-trick against Hibs thrown in as well. But he didn't finish the season as first choice, he was behind Cyriel Dessers. I think if someone like Lille came to Rangers and offered £10million and some kind of sell-on clause, I think he would be away. SAMUEL BALLET I don't think there's anything in it. They are looking at players in the winger position, understandably. Cerny's away, not sure about the future for Ross McCausland, Nedim Bajrami didn't really light the place up last season and neither did Oscar Cortes, I know a lot of that was down to injury. It wouldn't surprise me if Russell Martin is keen to make in-roads into that position but I don't think Ballet will be coming in, no. 10 Samuel Ballet is NOT a Rangers target Credit: Getty 10 Rangers missed out on Kwame Poku Credit: Getty KWAME POKU They thought they were quite far down the line with Poku. There was always interest from Birmingham and QPR kind of came to the party late and got the deal done, and fair play to QPR for getting the deal done. We'll probably find out in time what went wrong there for Rangers, if you like, but he was one that was high up on the list and they're now going to have to go further down the list because they do need players in that area. JOSH MULLIGAN My understanding is there was an interest from the Rangers recruitment department last season. I think that interest kept going even after Clement left and Barry Ferguson came in. There have been lots of changes, we think about Kevin Thelwell coming in, Nils Koppen departing, new recruitment coming in, Barry Ferguson's team left, a new management team came in and he seemed to fall down the pecking order at that stage. Hibs came in and I think they've done some really good business this summer. I think Josh Mulligan will do well for them. CYRIEL DESSERS I would think it'll go through. Again, we're into this July 1 thing and new financial years. I notice, in Greece, PAOK this morning announcing Greg Taylor so it wouldn't surprise me if AEK Athens manage to resolve this little impasse. I can't imagine there's a huge sum of money between AEK and Rangers over Dessers. I think Dessers is keen to go because of the finances, the personal terms on offer to him - 30 years of age, this would be the last big deal of his career. I think Rangers are probably ready to move on from Cyriel Dessers as well. This is a deal that looks to suit all parties. 10 CONOR COADY It's looking as if he's going to come up the road, looking as if he's going to become a Rangers player. I like him as a player, Rangers need centre-backs. Balogun's gone, Kasanwirjo's gone, Fernandes has gone, Propper looks to be heading back to Twente Enschede, John Souttar's battling with an injury and he's only got a year left on his deal as well. Rangers need a bit of a steady hand in there, Conor Coady would be that and it'll be interesting to see the make-up of the Rangers defence. Max Aarons is in and if he's going to play, does that mean Tavernier is going to become a centre-back? JACK BUTLAND They're close to making an appointment for a goalkeeping coach, Sal Bibbo who was at Arsenal in the past, he seems to be the man in the frame. I used to kid people on that goalie coaches just throw a couple of balls at training and it wasn't an important job - it is an important job. I think that's maybe one of the things that affected Jack Butland last season - changes in goalkeeping coaches. I think he needs a bit of consistency, I think the new goalie coach will bring him that consistency. He will be first choice, given what he's paid I think the Rangers board, the people who write the cheques will expect him to be first choice and it's then up to Jack Butland to take the opportunity again as being first choice. The thing with your feet - I'm old fashioned, I like goalies working with their hands and keeping the ball out of the net. You can work on your feet, goalie coaches and outfield coaches can make goalkeepers better with that. Remember Craig Gordon at Celtic, he improved markedly when he was there. I wouldn't worry about Jack Butland's feet. 10 Conor Coady is back in training with Leicester City Credit: Getty 10 Jack Butland will likely start the season a Rangers No1 Credit: Willie Vass Keep up to date with ALL the latest news and transfers at the Scottish Sun football page
Daily Record
01-07-2025
- Business
- Daily Record
Rangers transfer news as Joe Rothwell 'closes in' on Russell Martin reunion but Metinho battle intensifies
Rothwell is well known to Martin and the 49ers and could be set for a move to Ibrox Rangers are reportedly closing in on a deal for Bournemouth's Joe Rothwell. The 30-year-old midfielder is well known to the Ibrox side's new owners having spent last season on loan at Leeds United. Russell Martin has only signed Max Aarons since his arrival, with Lyall Cameron joining on a pre-contract from Dundee before he arrived the Ibrox hot-seat. Rothwell's set-piece deliveries were key in Daniel Farke's men winning promotion to the English Premier League last season. And the Yorkshire Evening Post now say the player 'is expected to sign a two-year deal at Ibrox if a deal can be struck between Bournemouth and Rangers'. It would be the second transfer between the two clubs this summer, with full back Aarons also arriving from the Cherries in a loan move. Aarons was also a target for Leeds United two summers ago before Bournemouth landed the deal. It's a sign of how the 49ers Enterprises, in charge at both at Elland Road and Ibrox now, strategy will work. But Rothwell is known to Rangers boss Martin as they worked together at Southampton for six months, where he was on loan from Bournemouth. Meanwhile, Swiss champions FC Basel have vowed to do everything they can to bring Rangers target Metinho back to the club. The Ibrox club were linked with a move for the 22-year-old Brazilian midfielder this week after his successful loan spell at Basel. He helped them to a Swiss cup double this season, but his loan spell has expired and he is back at French second tier outfit Troyes. Troyes paid £4 million to land Metinho four years ago from Fluminense, but have sent him out on three different loan spells and he appears certain to leave them this season permanently. And Basel have made it clear they will attempt to persuade the player to return to Switzerland. Sports director Daniel Stucki said: "We want to start the season with three or four proven midfielders. It's no secret that we want to sign Metinho permanently. "Negotiations with his club are still ongoing. We want to promote several promising young midfielders from the Academy, but we know we need to strengthen too. It won't be a quiet summer." Metinho has also attracted reported interest from clubs across Europe too and his future is set to be decided imminently.
