'At some point, he will leave'
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Scotsman
19 minutes ago
- Scotsman
Rangers fitness issues, Celtic star left ‘emotional', Steven Pressley addresses start
Latest news round-up from across Scottish football Sign up to our Football newsletter Sign up Thank you for signing up! Did you know with a Digital Subscription to The Scotsman, you can get unlimited access to the website including our premium content, as well as benefiting from fewer ads, loyalty rewards and much more. Learn More Sorry, there seem to be some issues. Please try again later. Submitting... Here is a round-up of the latest news across Scottish football this Sunday lunchtime... Celtic star left 'emotional' Kieran Tierney has admitted that his Celtic Park homecoming left him feeling emotional. The left-back made his second debut for Celtic in the 4-0 friendly win over Newcastle on Saturday following his return from Arsenal on a free transfer. Manager Brendan Rodgers handed Celtic fans the chance to acclaim the left-back when he brought him on for fellow summer signing Hayato Inamura 10 minutes into the second half. Tierney's introduction generated the loudest cheer of the day as fans hailed the 28-year-old's return. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Celtic's Kieran Tierney comes on during an Adidas Cup friendly match against Newcastle United at Celtic Park. (Photo by Craig Foy / SNS Group) | SNS Group Describing the moment, Tierney told Celtic TV: 'Amazing. I didn't know what to expect but that was just brilliant. What a feeling. I was quite emotional actually, running on to the park like that, but amazing. It was a great day for me.' The Scotland international was quickly into his rhythm and set up the fourth goal when he crossed for Liam Scales to head home after playing a one-two with Reo Hatate. Tierney added: 'They're a great team so it just shows the quality that we have got. When we play like that we can give anyone a game. Some of the goals we scored were brilliant.' Having had to win over some fans after returning to Celtic himself last summer, Rodgers was delighted to see Tierney receive the acclaim. 'I wanted him to get a specific welcome back,' he said. 'Just to get him back here at his age where he could easily be playing at the top end of the Premier League, to get a player of that level and that desire to play for Celtic is amazing for us. 'So, it was a great moment and another connection with him and the support. And then you see when he's on there, he's playing against young Anthony Elanga, who's a brilliant signing for Newcastle. But Kieran's got pace and power. And then you see how he created the goal with just that explosive speed and the quality. So, for us, it's great to have him here and he's still finding his fitness. But it was a great moment for him.' Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Rangers fitness issues Rangers are dealing with a number of fitness concerns ahead of their Champions League second qualifying round first leg tie against Panathinaikos at Ibrox on Tuesday. The match against the Greeks will mark the start of the Russell Martin era but the new head coach is confident that his side can overcome the fitness issues that are restricting his choices to get his tenure off to a positive start. Hamza Igamane and Cyriel Dessers are both likely to miss Rangers' Champions League opener against Panathinaikos on Tuesday. | SNS Group 'The adrenaline, the crowd, everything else will help them through,' Martin told Rangers TV. 'I feel like we've got a good enough base to build off and to win a game of football and to prepare us for that. I'm excited about what we're going to see on the pitch. It's by no means going to be complete. We need time to really embed what we want and for the team to really look how we want it. But we need to put in a performance that looks like us and gives us a platform to build off and to win a game. And to excite the crowd and to make them feel like this is going to be a team that they can connect with.' Rangers are likely to start without strikers Cyriel Dessers and Hamza Igamane, who scored 45 goals between them last season. 'They're both a little bit behind the group in terms of fitness,' Martin said. 'Cyriel because of an injury and Hamza because of visa problems. But they're here now and they're working so hard to get back into shape. And they're both going to be ready to help us, which is going to be really important. I'm looking forward to having them fully fit and firing very soon.' Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Former Wigan and Luton midfielder Thelo Aasgaard is also a fitness doubt for the first leg. 'It's disappointing for him and for us,' Martin said. 'Everything we thought we were getting and more since he's been here has been incredible. His understanding, his athleticism, the power he has, the technical capability, he really is an exciting player for us. Unfortunately, it's a different level of intensity and it's obviously high demands from pre-season. He's picked up just a little something, so he's going to be touch and go. We hope he can be involved, but if not, then we're really hopeful he'll be ready and raring to go for the second one.' Winger Djeidi Gassama is also short of full fitness after arriving from Sheffield Wednesday last week. Martin said: 'He's a little bit behind in terms of fitness because they went back a bit later than us and the pre-season he's had has been a bit disrupted because he was going to be on the move. He's not ready to start the game. But he is totally different to anything we've got. He's unpredictable. He's a fantastic one-on-one specialist. He has real individual talent. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad 'He has a lot of work to do physically and to get used to the way we're going to work. But already his willingness to do that, how hard he's working to catch up on fitness, has been really brilliant. So he'll be in the squad. He'll definitely be ready to go for the second game. The first game might have to manage his minutes and the expectation, but he's going to help us a lot.' Steven Pressley is under pressure after losing to lower league opposition twice in his opening two matches in charge of Dundee. | SNS Group Steven Pressley pressure Steven Pressley is already a man under pressure after starting his tenure as Dundee manager with back-to-back defeats to lower league opposition in the Premier Sports Cup. Saturday's 1-0 defeat at Alloa followed the same scoreline at home to Airdrie and left Dundee with no chance of Premier Sports Cup progress. Games against Bonnyrigg Rose and Montrose in the coming week are now effectively pre-season fixtures for Dundee with Pressley already under pressure from fans to get things right ahead of the William Hill Premiership opener against Hibernian on August 3. Asked how they respond, Pressley told Dee TV: 'By accepting, by understanding that's not good enough, and as a group, me, the players, have to show resilience and respond to that. It's far from the ideal start, it's not what we wanted, but you have to show character in these moments of time and that's certainly what I expect us to do. They are a very good group. I have said we need reinforcements but that's irrelevant because we have to do better than that.
Scottish Sun
19 minutes ago
- Scottish Sun
Former Arsenal star Rob Holding, 29, lined up for shock MLS transfer following failed Sheffield United loan
Holding could leave Crystal Palace this summer after latest interest HOLD ME TIGHT Former Arsenal star Rob Holding, 29, lined up for shock MLS transfer following failed Sheffield United loan ROB HOLDING is on the radar of MLS clubs as his Crystal Palace future is in doubt. The ex-Arsenal defender, 29, had a loan at Sheffield United for the second half of last season. Advertisement 3 Rob Holding was frozen out after falling out with manager Oliver Glasner Credit: Getty 3 He played only one game for Crystal Palace after the situation with Oliver Glasner Credit: Rex 3 He spent most of his time training with the junior team before moving to Sheffield United in January Credit: Getty Championship sides are keen but there is interest in the US for a second year running. The defender was signed from Arsenal for £4million in 2023, but he played only one game for the Eagles after falling out with manager Oliver Glasner. He was then sent to train with the junior team, where he remained frozen out until deadline day of the January transfer window, when he joined Sheffield United. Holding, who made 162 appearances for Arsenal, was brought in to add experience and solidity to Crystal Palace's backline after signing a contract through to 2026. Advertisement READ MORE FOOTBALL NEWS END OF THE WORLD Man Utd, Man City and Liverpool STRIPPED of status as world champions But as things stand, a complete separation from the club could be in everyone's best interest. He went on to make 10 appearances and provided one assist as Sheffield United finished third in the Championship but missed out on promotion and manager Chris Wilder leaving. Former Blades boss Wilder admitted he wanted to keep Holding before leaving his post after failing to secure Premier League promotion. He said: "Rob is just a straight loan until the end of the season, but he's certainly someone we'd be interested in if the loan goes well. Advertisement 'You don't get signed by a club like Arsenal if you haven't got something about you – if you're not a little bit special. BEST ONLINE CASINOS - TOP SITES IN THE UK 'As sometimes happens, things didn't work out at Palace, and we've taken advantage of that. 'Everyone's been impressed with Rob in his early days here at Sheffield United." Advertisement Crystal Palace could be KICKED OUT of Europa League before a ball is even kicked The departure of Wilder has meant Holding could do with moving abroad instead of heading back to Bramall Lane. In other transfer news, Crystal Palace welcomed Eberechi Eze back for pre-season despite strong links to Arsenal. The England midfielder has two years left on his current deal, but after lifting the FA Cup and establishing himself as a Palace legend, a move to North London does interest him. Palace, however, are yet to receive an official approach. Sources have told SunSport the Eagles will hold out for a fee of around £65million to do business with the Gunners.
Daily Mirror
20 minutes ago
- Daily Mirror
Man Utd 'close to hijacking Viktor Gyokeres to Arsenal transfer' with sensational late bid
Viktor Gyokeres had looked set to join Arsenal from Sporting Lisbon, but a hitch in negotiations opened the door for Manchester United, who have made a late effort to sign him Arsenal's failure to agree terms with Sporting Lisbon for Viktor Gyokeres could come back to bite them after Manchester United made a last-gasp attempt to hijack the deal. The Gunners have been in negotiations with Sporting for some time over the structure of the transfer fee for Gyokeres and may have left the door open for their Premier League rivals. Gyokeres is desperate to leave Sporting in the summer transfer window and things have got increasingly bitter between the Swedish striker and his current employers. After threatening to go on strike, the ex-Coventry player appeared to have got his wish when Arsenal chose him over Benjamin Sesko. It emerged last weekend that Arsenal and Sporting had verbally agreed a deal in principle worth an initial £55million plus £8.6m in add-ons and bonuses. However, continued discussions involving Arsenal sporting director Andrea Berta and Sporting chiefs have so far failed to yield a full agreement. The sticking point is the way the deal is structured and the delays have meant that Arsenal have been unable to sign Gyokeres in time for their pre-season tour of Asia. While this appeared to simply be a bump in the road on Gyokeres' way to north London, it could now become something more serious, with Portuguese media dropping a bombshell on Sunday. SIC now reports that Arsenal's deal is 'increasingly at risk'. They say Arsenal's fixed offer is set at €63.5m (£55m), which rises to €70m (£60m) because Gyokeres' agent waived his €6.5m (£5.6m) commission. And that rigid structure is not acceptable for Sporting. Record, meanwhile, says United have now dropped a new bid on the table which is worth between €70-80million (£60-69m). The newspaper notes that Gyokeres - who played under Ruben Amorim at Sporting - still only wants to join Arsenal, but it is still a curveball in the transfer saga. The 27-year-old is under contract with Sporting until June 2028 and Sporting president Federico Varandas has been happy to play hard ball in negotiations – and make his stance plain in public. 'If they don't want to pay Viktor's fair market value, we're very comfortable with that for the next three years," he said recently. "This strategy is also making it more complicated for the player to leave. Nobody is above the interests of the club. Whoever they are. We're calm. Everything will be resolved with the market closing, a hefty fine and an apology to the group.' Gyokeres has indeed refused to report for pre-season training to incur a fine. "One thing you should already know is me better," Varandas previously stated. "Threats, blackmail and insults don't work with me. "I can guarantee that Viktor Gyökeres will not leave for €60m+10m because I never promised him that. This game that the agent is playing only makes the situation worse. To this day, Sporting has not had an offer for Viktor Gyökeres, neither today nor last season."
