Thomson uncertain about future in Ibrox youth role
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
.png%3Fwidth%3D1200%26auto%3Dwebp%26quality%3D75%26trim%3D0%2C100%2C0%2C100%26crop%3D&w=3840&q=100)
Scotsman
an hour ago
- Scotsman
'Calls from Celtic and Rangers' - rivals credited with interest in same player amid transfer claim
18y/o youth international on radar of Old Firm duo 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... Celtic and Rangers have both been credited with an interest in an emerging 18-year-old Serbian youth international. Andrej Bacanin has risen to prominence in his homeland with Super League side FK Cukaricki, with the defensive midfielder amassing 17 appearances as he made his senior breakthrough last season. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad The club's sporting director, Vladimir Matijasevic, has revealed that he expects the player to depart "in the next 10 days" after fielding interest from the Glasgow rivals as well as Ajax and Udinese. Celtic and Rangers have both been credited with an interest in Andrej Bacanin | Getty Images Bacanin was left out of Cukaricki line-up for their league opener against Napretka on Saturday amid the transfer speculation. The player is valued at around €1.2million, according to football data website FotMob, but a bidding war could see the fee rise. Matijasevic told the Cukaricki website: 'There is a lot of interest in our young players, and currently the focus is on the transfer of Andrej Bačanin. 'He attracted the attention of numerous clubs by playing for our team last season but also for the Serbian national team at his age. We had calls from the Scottish giants Celtic and Rangers, Ajax, Udinese, and some other teams are interested. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad 'It is possible that some other options will appear, and I expect the transfer to be realized in the next ten days. I expect that this will be another big outgoing transfer of Cukaricki, which would cover the budget of our club.' Cukaricki have already broken their outgoing transfer record this summer after selling another 18-year-old prospect, striker Mihajlo Cvetković, to Anderlecht for €3.2m.
Scottish Sun
an hour ago
- Scottish Sun
Ex-Rangers boss Alex McLeish reflects on Euro agony vs Panathinaikos and offers Walter Smith advice to Russell Martin
He's shared some memories of his early days at Ibrox GREEK TRAGEDY Ex-Rangers boss Alex McLeish reflects on Euro agony vs Panathinaikos and offers Walter Smith advice to Russell Martin Click to share on X/Twitter (Opens in new window) Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) ALEX McLEISH saw his European dreams crushed the last time Rangers faced Panathinaikos in the Champions League. Now he hopes Russell Martin's side make amends on Tuesday night. Sign up for the Rangers newsletter Sign up 6 Michael Mols' goal wasn't enough to stop Rangers going down to Panathinaikos 6 Alex McLeish's men needed to win at Ibrox to drop into the UEFA Cup 6 But the 3-1 defeat saw McLeish's charges crash out of Europe Eck was in charge at Ibrox when they hosted the Greeks in the group stages in December 2003. Back-to-back away defeats to Manchester United and Stuttgart, after a home loss to the Old Trafford side, had killed their knockout stage hopes. Gers had a solid start, beating the Germans in Govan and drawing away in Athens. Still, a win against the Greeks on matchday six would have seen Rangers into the Uefa Cup. But a 3-1 loss saw them finish bottom of Group E on goal difference. Michael Mols put Gers ahead, but goals from Raimondas Zutautas, Angelos Basinas and Michalis Konstantinou stunned Ibrox. McLeish said: 'We'd got past FC Copenhagen in the qualifying round then started the group well against Stuttgart. 'We could actually have won in Greece too — they scored right at the end to get a draw. 'But 1-1 was a good result, and four points out of six was a good start. 'We were a bit limp in the two United games, and went into the last game at Ibrox knowing a Uefa Cup place was the best we could get. New Rangers chiefs Andrew Cavenagh and Paraag Marathe's first interview 'Mols put us ahead but they equalised straight away, went in front, and hit us with a third on the break when we were pushing forward. 'It was a poor performance, and I just hope Rangers can make amends for it on Tuesday night. 'After the Treble in 2002-03 we'd made a lot of changes to the squad and we were in the middle of a rebuild. 'Barry Ferguson and Lorenzo Amoruso had joined Blackburn, Neil McCann went to Southampton, Arthur Numan had left. 'The squad was definitely weaker and it showed in the European games. 'It was still pretty close against Panathinaikos, but we weren't at the level of previous seasons.' McLeish knows the pressure is on new Gers boss Martin going into Tuesday's clash — but thought back to his first Old Firm game as manager, the CIS Cup semi-final in 2002, for inspiration. Eck added: 'I was staying in a hotel and I was stomping around my room the night before with all those thoughts in my head. Have YOU got a point for Kris Boyd? Kris Boyd and Roger Hannah chew over the big talking points each week SOMETHING you've just got to get off your chest from the weekend action? A burning Scottish football talking point you can't wait to bring up with Kris Boyd and Roger Hannah? SunSport's GoBallistic show wants to hear from you! So why not help set the Scottish football agenda for the week ahead! Have your say on the game's big topics by emailing us on: GoBallistic@ It's YOUR turn to Go Ballistic! 'There had been a bit of scepticism about my appointment, and we were going into my first Old Firm game with Celtic going for back-to-back Trebles. 'I'd the wee devil on one side going, 'What if you never beat Celtic? You'll go down in history as a dumpling'. "And the wee angel was going, 'But what if you win? How good would it be?'. 'I rang Sir Alex Ferguson that night and had a chat, told him how we were going into the game as underdogs. 'He said to make sure my defence was locked tight, but also to make sure I'd one or two in the team with the X-factor. 'Being honest, I wasn't envisaging Bert Konterman as my X-factor guy! 6 "But he was the hero of the hour with his flash of inspiration to win the game. 'I get the fans' concern about whether there's been enough preparation for this. 'But it would be a fantastic boost if Russell got his tactics right and got a result. It would silence the doubters. 'For me, that Celtic game lit the touchpaper and we went on to win trophies. So it just takes one result. 6 Alex McLeish hopes Russell Martin fares better against the Greeks than he did "But Russell will know it's going to be tough. Greece's international team were really good against Scotland in the Nations League play-off in March. 'It's not going be a walkover and I don't think people are thinking that way. 'It might be that Rangers need that underdog mentality. Make sure they are absolutely watertight but still have a bit of flair, with match winners in the side. 'Russell had a very difficult job at Southampton and he knows the demands at Rangers. 'I think back to going to dinner with Walter Smith and our wives when I took over. "I asked if he had any tips for me, and he looked furtively over his shoulder and leaned forward towards me. 'I thought, 'Brilliant, I'm going to get some penetrating insight, the benefit of all his experience'. 6 'And he said, 'Just f****** win, that's all there is to it!'. I carried that into every single game. 'Russell has been at Rangers, he knows there are critics everywhere and that expectation of winning every week. 'It would be nice to go to Greece with a 2-0 lead. But it will be difficult.' Keep up to date with ALL the latest news and transfers at the Scottish Sun football page
Daily Mail
an hour ago
- Daily Mail
'I know I've got the game to win a major,' says Scotland's Bob MacIntyre after another top-10 finish
Robert MacIntyre couldn't quite match the tie for sixth he managed on his Open debut at Royal Portrush in 2019, but the Scot still feels it's just 'a matter of time' before he lands his first major. The moment he was craving to attack the Northern Irish course in a final-day title bid was, in truth, never really going to materialise when eventual champion Scottie Scheffler was so far ahead of the chasing pack from Saturday onwards. However, off the back of his runner-up finish at last month's US Open at Oakmont, MacIntyre saw enough in his game these last few days to suggest that he is not far away from lifting one of the game's big prizes. MacIntyre certainly seems to be nearing the consistency on the big stages that could see him become the first Scot to win a major since Paul Lawrie's Open triumph at Carnoustie in 1999. 'I just had to keep saying to myself, 'Stay patient, there's a good finish there if you can stay calm',' said the 28-year-old, whose closing 67 saw him tie seventh with home favourite Rory McIlroy and last year's Open champion Xander Schauffele. 'There's certain holes this week that were vital, and I played them poorly. But I'm finishing top 10 in a major and being frustrated with certain parts of my game. 'Things are good and I've just got to wait my turn. 'I know I've got the game. I feel like it's a matter of time, if I just keep piecing it all together. 'It's been a great performance and a good result, but it's another reassurance that I'm in the right place.' He admitted after Saturday's third round that he would need a 'hot start' to make an impression at the top of the leaderboard. While that didn't quite materialise, four birdies in his final seven holes — including consecutive gains at 14 and 15 — were further evidence that he doesn't lack the confidence or prowess to challenge at the very top of the sport. The Oban left-hander made a promising enough start with a birdie at the par-five second after his long eagle putt stopped tantalisingly short of the hole. However, he immediately handed back that advantage with a bogey on the par-four fifth. 'Stupid', was MacIntyre's brutal assessment of that aberration, which effectively halted him in his tracks until another birdie at seven. By the time he found the momentum he was looking for, it was ultimately too little too late. There were gains at 12 and 14, the latter when a low chip scuttled all the way into the cup. That hoisted him back to the upper reaches of the leaderboard, and some of the exciting promise he had shown over the last four days was fulfilled as he recorded further birdies at 15 and 17. Certainly, finishing alongside McIlroy and Schauffele on the minus 10 mark was no disgrace, albeit the trio found themselves seven strokes behind first-time Open champion Scheffler. Wyndham Clark, Matt Fitzpatrick and Haotong Li were a shot ahead of MacIntyre in a tie for fourth, while Harris English finished runner-up and Scottish Open champion Chris Gotterup was third.
