Rangers hero makes Shankland transfer ‘enquiry’ claim as Celtic striker ‘not capable’ replacement for Kyogo

Celtic and Rangers must quickly dust themselves down and prepare to go again on Wednesday night as they face a quick turnaround ahead of the latest batch of Scottish Premiership fixtures.

The Hoops, who were held to a goalless draw at Hibernian on Saturday, will host St Mirren next up while Rangers will head to Dundee bouyed by their late 2-1 victory over Hearts at the weekend.

Meanwhile, there is still plenty of transfer news stories making the headlines at the start of a new weeks. Here is the latest Celtic and Rangers gossip on Tuesday, October 31:

Rangers hero makes Shankland transfer ‘enquiry’ claim

Barry Ferguson has confessed he would love to see Hearts talisman Lawrence Shankland in a Rangers jersey this January - with transfer speculation intensifying over the weekend.

The Scotland cap scored against the Ibrox side on Sunday before the Jambos collapsed to a 2-1 defeat in the closing stages after late goals from James Tavernier and Danilo. Prolific frontman Shankland - who still has 18 months left on his current deal at Tynecastle - was previously linked with a move to Govan in the last two transfer windows and netting against the Glasgow giants has further fuelled those rumours.

The 28-year-old has demonstrated his talent and potential at the Edinburgh club and Ferguson has suggested a switch to Rangers could be the next logical step in his career as he outlined the main attributes that would make him a promising addition.

He said: “I was so impressed with Lawrence Shankland. Take away the goal, his link-up play, build-up play, I think as he’s got older he’s got better. I would be enquiring and asking what is the script, how long has he got left on his contract, what would it cost?

“I am not saying Lawrence Shankland is going to score 30 goals in Europe or get you further in the Europa League. But he is a very good football player and I would be looking at that and thinking to myself ‘is there a possibility that could happen?”

Celtic striker ‘not capable’ replacement for Kyogo

Kenny Miller admits he’s still unconvinced that Oh Hyeon-gyu is “capable” of replacing Kyogo Furuhashi should Celtic ever lose their star striker to injury.

The former Hoops and Rangers star believes Brendan Rodgers must identify a new attacker to provide suitable competition for Japanese scoring sensation Kyogo, who has been the club’s main goal threat over the last two-and-a-half years.

However, if he were to sustain any further injury, as was the case when he picked up a shoulder problem earlier this season which continues to aggrevate him, Miller reckons Celtic are incredibly light in options with Oh still too raw to be considered a first-choice starter.

He told Clyde 1 Superscoreboard: “In summer Celtic needed to sign a backup striker. With (Giorgos) Giakoumakis going out the door, Oh is now being given... he had 25 minutes, half an hour with stoppage time on Saturday and he’s just not a capable replacement at this moment in time.

“When Kyogo goes off - and there’s talk of the shoulder injury which is going to eventually need looked at or operated on - if he was to be missing that’d be a massive hole in that Celtic team. It’s not just about the goals, it’s how he plays. Oh is a completely different player to Kyogo and he’s the one who’s been replacing him.

“Then does Daizen Maeda go through the middle? He’s a different player and then you lose something on the side as to what he brings you! I think they will look to bring in a backup to Kyogo in January, but it’s a tough window.”