Latest news with #PremierSportsCup
Daily Record
15 hours ago
- Sport
- Daily Record
Lawrence Shankland won't start pre season with Hearts as transfer exit fears rise after fresh Tynecastle talks
The Scotland international has yet to make a decision on his future after the end of his Gorgie contract Derek McInnes has been forced to leave it to Hearts' hierarchy to make one last push in their bid to keep Lawrence Shankland. The Jambos gaffer hoped to have an answer from the club's former captain on his future by Saturday - when his squad fly to Spain for pre-season training. Shankland is still weighing up whether to stay at Tynecastle or move on, with interest from clubs in England and abroad. But Record Sport understands that after fresh talks with the Scotland striker on Tuesday night, he WON'T be on the plane to Spain. That means McInnes is now praying that Hearts chiefs can somehow thrash out a deal with the 29-year-old in his absence and persuade Shankland to re-sign. The manager is now fully focused on the players he does have at his disposal as he gears up for the Premier Sports Cup group phase and the Premiership kick-off. McInnes said this week the club wouldn't wait forever on Shankland making up his mind and if he rejected the deal - he would start looking for a replacement centre-forward. The Scotland front-man has been training on his own in Dubai over the summer after his contract expired in Gorgie. And he was keen to consider Hearts' latest, improved offer especially after McInnes took over as boss. Hearts haven't given up hope of Shankland staying - but missing out on the Jambos' pre-season trip means it's increasingly unlikely.
Scotsman
16 hours ago
- Sport
- Scotsman
Hearts name their 28-man squad for Spain - new signings and Lawrence Shankland contract latest
EFL opponents for new Tynecastle head coach Derek McInnes Sign up to our Hearts newsletter Sign up Thank you for signing up! Did you know with a Digital Subscription to Edinburgh News, 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... Hearts fly out to Spain early on Saturday morning for a week-long pre-season training camp and have named a 28-man travelling squad. As expected, Lawrence Shankland is not included as he is out of contract, although he remains in talks with the club about a potential new deal. New manager Derek McInnes takes the team to south-east Spain for warm-weather training in temperatures which could touch 35 degrees next week. Hearts will play English League Two club Crawley Town during the trip before travelling back to Scotland on Saturday, 5 July. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad The Edinburgh club's first competitive match of McInnes' reign is against Dunfermline Athletic in the Premier Sports Cup at Tynecastle Park on Saturday, 12 July. By then, players will have been working under new management for more than three weeks, but much of the proper hard graft is due to take place over the next week in south-east Spain. The full 28-man Hearts squad is listed below, with Shankland a notable absentee. He is open to the prospect of re-signing at Hearts and has held several rounds of talks with McInnes, who is eager to keep him. So far, there has been no agreement. Tynecastle officials have made it clear that they will not wait indefinitely for the Scotland internationalist and will explore other options in an effort to add another striker to their squad for the season ahead. Other absentees from the Spanish trip are goalkeeper Craig Gordon, who is still recovering from a shoulder injury, and forward Kenneth Vargas, who is on international duty with Costa Rica at the CONCACAF Gold Cup. Youngsters travelling are defender Adam Forrester, midfielder Aidan Denholm, striker James Wilson and goalkeeper Harry Stone. All six of Hearts' new signings are also included. Hearts squad travelling to Spain: Frankie Kent Stephen Kingsley Craig Halkett Jamie McCart Beni Baningime Elton Kabangu Calem Nieuwenhof Claudio Braga Christian Borchgrevink Cammy Devlin Michael Steinwender Blair Spittal Alan Forrest Harry Milne Stuart Findlay Yan Dhanda James Wilson Aidan Denholm Lewis Neilson Sander Kartum Zander Clark James Penrice Ryan Fulton Oisin McEntee Adam Forrester Musa Drammeh Harry Stone Alexandros Kyziridis More to follow.... 'We're still trying to bring in a couple of players in key positions,' explained McInnes. 'In certain areas, we've got more than enough. In defence, we look really strong and have options. We've got size, experience and good athleticism in those areas. I've made it clear I'm looking for a wide-right player, that's no secret. Looking at the players we've got, it's about who can fit into how we want to play. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad 'I don't think we've got too much to do. I have a lot of good players in the building. It's hard to make quick assessments in a few days. Normally a manager will say it's a clean slate for everyone and I feel the players are facing that. They're trying to show me they have a part to play. But decisions on a few of them will have to be accelerated clearly if I'm bringing another couple in. The squad will then be too heavy, so those conversations will be for Spain and beyond. Right now, everyone has a chance and an opportunity to be here.'
Daily Record
19 hours ago
- Sport
- Daily Record
St Mirren step up pre-season preparation with first friendly against Dumbarton
The Buddies will face the Sons in the first of three friendlies ahead of their Premier Sports Cup opener against Arbroath. St Mirren will get their first taste of match action tomorrow with a trip across the Erskine Bridge to face Dumbarton. The Buddies take on the League Two outfit as Stephen Robinson and his players warm up for the 2025-26 Premiership campaign. It will also be the first chance for the black-and-white army to see how some of the new recruits look. Stevie Farrell's Dumbarton — taken over by Canadian Mario Lapointe after entering administration towards the end of last season when they were relegated from League One — announced the signings of three young Saints. Full-back Thomas Falconer, midfielder Carrick McEvoy and forward Theo McCormick have joined the West Dunbartonshire club on loan. Meanwhile, former Buddies keeper Shay Kelly has put pen to paper at The Rock following a successful loan spell last term. The Paisley club's front door has also been busy so far this summer with six signings confirmed —four of them being new faces. Highly-rated Morton keeper Ryan Mullen, 24, arrived on a two-year deal today. Former Aberdeen wing-back Jayden Richardson joined after leaving National League South outfit Boreham Wood with midfielder Liam Donnelly coming in from Kilmarnock. Jamaican international Richard King has also signed for Saints but will not be in the squad due to being on Concacaf Gold Cup duty with the Reggae Boyz. Killian Phillips and Roland Idowu made their loan deals from Crystal Palace and Shrewsbury Town, respectively, permanent. Since returning to the training ground on Thursday, June 19, the players have been hard at work on their fitness, strength and conditioning. Lead sports scientist Gary McColl put the squad under the microscope as he assessed each player's current level. Speaking about the pre-season programme, he told club media: 'We like to get the boys in and do a bit of testing, a bit of profiling, to see where they are. 'We will do things like measuring body composition, we will have them in the gym and doing different strength tests and some jumping tests for power outputs.' Skipper Mark O'Hara has been one of the players undergoing this close examination and admitted that, while having a few weeks off is nice, it is also important to stay in shape. He added: '[One of] the fitness tests we did was a timed mile run challenge. It is a fit group, there is no place for slacking, and you need to make sure that you are working hard over the summer to be in tip-top shape.' Next up for the Buddies will be a flight out of Scotland to their warm-weather Spanish training camp in Murcia. They will take on Sky Bet League Two side MK Dons at the Pinatar Arena before returning home to visit Championship Airdrieonians on Tuesday, July 8. Meanwhile, striker Owen Oseni, 22, today completed a move to Sky Bet League One side Plymouth Argyle. He signed a three-year deal for a rumoured £60,000 fee. Saints have add-ons and sell-on clauses included in the terms.
Daily Record
2 days ago
- Sport
- Daily Record
Derek McInnes makes early Hearts confession as he looks to avoid familiar Kilmarnock 'strain'
The Jambos' boss is looking towards the campaign and what will help the Jambos' get off to the perfect start Derek McInnes would love nothing more than to have a Hearts Euro adventure to look forward to. But the Tynecastle gaffer admits their failure to qualify this season could HELP his bid to get them off to a flier domestically. McInnes has been hired as Neil Critchley's replacement in Gorgie after they finished in the bottom half of the Scottish Premiership last term. That means no European football for the new boss, which he's gutted about. But having been there with Kilmarnock a year ago, he's realistic enough to know that having a clear run at the Premier Sports Cup group phase - as well as the league - could be beneficial as they look to hit the ground running. McInnes said: 'I'd rather have to deal with European fixtures, the congestion and all the disruption that can cause. 'That's what I want us to be and where I want us to be. But unfortunately, we've got to look from the outside in this season. 'And when you don't have European football to contend with, it's important you try to make hay at the start of the season and get off to a strong start. 'At Killie, there's no doubt that we suffered a wee bit last season. There are many advantages if you're playing in Europe. 'But I think, from a new manager's point of view, just focusing on one game a week can help. 'Europe does put strain on you and unless you've got a really strong squad to deal with it, it can cause you issues. If you are playing Saturday, Thursday, Sunday, your opponents domestically are focusing solely on you - whereas you are only turning your eyes to them on Friday. 'The team you are up against, unless they are in Europe, always have an advantage.' Before league business starts, McInnes and his team must navigate a League Cup group stage that features games against Dunfermline, Hamilton, Stirling Albion and Dumbarton. And the manager insists he'll be playing the strongest team he's got ahead of the Premiership kick-off. He said: 'I will play the best team possible. I might have the luxury of being able freshen the team up but there will be no playing about with the team – it will be the strongest Hearts team in every game." 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 on WhatsApp, where we bring all the latest breaking news and transfer gossip directly to your phone. Join our Rangers community here and our Celtic community here.
Scottish Sun
2 days ago
- Sport
- Scottish Sun
Major Celtic target ‘arrives in Scotland' to finalise transfer to Premiership champions
ONE of Celtic's top transfer targets has arrived in Scotland to finalise his move to the club, according to a report. Brendan Rodgers has stressed the importance of building on his Double-winning squad, in order to maintain their spot on top in the domestic game and to push on in Europe. 2 Benjamin Nygren in action for Sweden against Hungary Credit: Alamy Last season the Hoops won the Premiership title, beat Rangers in the Premier Sports Cup final and advanced to the knockout rounds of the new-look Champions League. They did however lose the Scottish Cup final to Aberdeen and this season they will face a Rangers team spurred on by new owners and a new manager, and have the added hurdle of needing to navigate a play-off tie to qualify into the Champions League. Star winger Nicolas Kuhn could be on his way out, with interest from RB Leipzig, Como and Newcastle. SunSport exclusively revealed that Swedish attacker Benjamin Nygren was high on the Hoops' wishlist this summer. We then told you how he held positive talks with the Parkhead club a fortnight ago. All that was holding up the deal was the fact the player was on holiday and now, according to the Daily Record, the 23-year-old has landed in Scotland to complete the switch. Celtic will pay around £1.7million to land the Swedish international, who has been starring for Nordsjaelland in Denmark but only has six months left on his current contract. Copenhagen and Anderlecht were keen on him too and Nordsjaelland also fielded calls from MLS and Bundesliga clubs. But SunSport understood he always preferred a move to Scotland. Celts gaffer Rodgers has already snapped up Kieran Tierney from Arsenal and is looking to add further quality to his side. The diggers move in as Celtic Park pitch is dug up It's unclear if Rodgers wants to play Nygren as a winger, No10 or a striker, but his versatility will give the manager options. The Hoops have also been linked with wingers Michel-Ange Balikwisha and Sondre Orjasaeter. Japanese striker Shin Yamada is another name on their list. And the Parkhead side have been working away on a deal for Albirex Niigata defender Hayato Inamura. Former IFK Gothenburg sporting director Mats Gren reckons Nygren is better operating as a No10 and believes that is where Rodgers would get the best out of him. He told SunSport: 'When Benjamin plays on the right wing or as a No9, he can be effective. 'However, he is best as a No10. That is where all his qualities can be on show. 'Benjamin is an intelligent attacker. His left foot is fantastic and he can score goals and assist. 'His final ball is always very good and he can finish when he gets a chance. He has the lot! 'He is not slow but he's maybe not super fast, and that's the only thing you can say that he lacks. 'However, he is quick enough to get away from opponents and has very good vision and passing.' 2 Keep up to date with ALL the latest news and transfers at the Scottish Sun football page
