Former Rangers star wanted for Premiership comeback as Celtic hit with transfer reality check

Celtic and Rangers will already be hard at work preparing for next season with pre-season now firmly in sight.

The Hoops will want to continue their dominance in the Premiership while improving their Champions League efforts year on year. Meanwhile, Philippe Clement knows he has a big season ahead of him at Ibrox, needing to deliver clear progress in his first full season in charge.

As preparations ramp up, we have rounded up all the latest news and transfer rumours surrounding the two Old Firm clubs.

Ex-Rangers man set for top flight return

Former Rangers man Charlie Telfer could be set for a return to the Scottish Premiership with Ross County, according to the Press and Journal. The 28-year-old is moving on from Airdrieonians, and he is now a free agent after two years with the club.

Ross County chief executive Steven Ferguson has said of new recruits: “We’re still looking for a goalkeeper and maybe another four players throughout the team, following George Harmon and Michee Efete staying and Max Sheaf having his contract for next season updated. We want real competition for places throughout the squad.

“Logan Ross will remain part of our goalkeeping group and we will be looking to add one more keeper. In terms of our first-team, we’ll have Ross Laidlaw and Logan Ross and we’ll bring in one more. In the Premiership, you need three goalkeepers. You are only ever one injury away from having a panic on your hands. If we get another keeper in, we’d be comfortable going into the start of the season.”

Telfer, a midfielder, made one appearance for Rangers after coming through the academy. He later played for Dundee United and Livingston before dropping down the pyramid. He could now be set for a return to the top flight.

Strachan’s Champions League warning

Gordon Strachan has been speaking about the challenges Celtic face as they look to put together a better Champions League campaign next season and beyond. He told Bet Crypto Casinos: “The standard has risen in European football and I think the financial side of it, a lot of the clubs have risen there as well. Even if you talk about Galatasaray and teams like that, they can spend much more than Celtic can. “So there’s a huge difference financially. You’ll probably say to me then; ‘oh, well, there’s a team from so and so who got to the last 16’, or a small country. Yeah, but what happens after that? If they’re reasonably successful, other clubs decimate their team normally now. They take the manager; take the players and they last one season and go. People think because Celtic have a 60,000 crowd that they’ve got money coming from everywhere. That’s not possible. Even if you said to Celtic supporters; ‘We’ve got £40m to spend.’ Where do you spend £40m?

“And Chelsea have proved that £40m is nothing and they’ve spent nearly a billion on a team that managed to get to sixth or eighth or whatever it was last year. But the problem is that Chelsea will always get backers. If Celtic went and spent £40m, you’ve got to remember you spend £40m on transfers, and then what you’ve got to pay in wages. So it’s not just £40m in transfer fees, you’re probably able to spend £20m, and another £20m on wages.

“So that’s the problem you’ve got. So what are you going to get with £20m transfer fees this year? Nothing. It’s absolutely nothing. So that’s the problem just now. Twenty or 25 years ago, Celtic at one point in the early 2000s had the sixth highest wage bill in Britain. It’s nowhere near that now. So there’s not one or two wee things. It’s a financial thing and there’s all sorts going on. The standard, the teams have got better.

“There’s no doubt about it. The teams from Denmark and places like that have got better as well. You find it hard to get through the group stages. There’s more people, there can be five English clubs for one year, it’s a lot harder now.”