Celtic Reshapes Attack as Rangers and Hearts Navigate Busy Transfer Market

Celtic’s forward line is being ripped up and rebuilt in real time. On one side of the door, Daizen Maeda is already in England, bags in hand. On the other, Kasper Høgh waits to be waved through.

The Scottish champions have held talks with Bodo/Glimt over a move for the 25-year-old Dane, who is rated at around £7m. Høgh did not kick a ball on Thursday night, left as an unused substitute while the Norwegian champions eased to a 3-0 win over HamKam. His absence from the pitch only fuelled the sense that Celtic are close to landing a striker they have tracked since January.

The outgoing piece of that puzzle looks all but done. Maeda arrived in London on Thursday to undergo a medical ahead of a £10m transfer to Ipswich Town, with the 28-year-old’s departure from Celtic expected to be confirmed on Friday. A relentless runner and a trusted figure in big games, his exit leaves a hole in Ange Postecoglou’s old template and forces a new version of Celtic’s front three to take shape.

Celtic’s recruitment drive does not stop with Høgh. The club are still short of Paderborn’s valuation for 22-year-old midfielder Mika Baur after a £4m offer, and the newly promoted Bundesliga side are prepared to let him leave for free next summer rather than sell below their price. It is a hard line, and one Celtic must decide whether to cross now or walk away from.

Targets in Serie A and La Liga

The radar stretches into Italy. Celtic hold an interest in two Lazio attackers: 25-year-old striker Gustav Isaksen and 24-year-old winger Matteo Cancellieri. Both fit the club’s usual profile – mid-20s, scope to grow, resale potential – but prising players from a Serie A club with European ambitions rarely comes cheap or easy.

In goal, the picture is just as demanding. Las Palmas want more than £4.3m plus a sell-on clause for 27-year-old goalkeeper Dinko Horkas, another name linked with Celtic. The Spanish side know the market for keepers is tight and are pricing accordingly.

Even established names in Glasgow are drawing glances from elsewhere. Reo Hatate, one of Celtic’s most technically gifted midfielders, is on West Ham United’s summer radar. So too are Rangers centre-half John Souttar and his brother Harry, the Leicester City and Australia defender. The London club are clearly shopping in the British and Commonwealth market for defensive reinforcements, and both Glasgow clubs will be wary of serious Premier League money landing on the table.

Danilo heads home as Rangers miss out elsewhere

Across the city, Rangers are cutting loose one of their bigger attacking bets. Danilo has arrived in Brazil and is due to undergo a medical on Friday to complete a loan move to Botafogo. The 27-year-old striker’s time at Ibrox has been blighted by injury and inconsistency; a return to Brazil offers a reset for the player and some breathing space for Rangers’ wage bill.

They look to have lost one race already. AC Milan are close to an agreement with Troyes for 20-year-old central defender Sankhoun Diawara, a player who had attracted interest from both Rangers and Basel. When Milan come calling, the outcome tends to be swift, and this chase appears no different.

From Rangers to Spurs and back again

Mikey Moore has already completed one loop of the British football map. The 18-year-old winger played the second half of Tottenham Hotspur’s 1-0 friendly win over MK Dons and spoke of being “buzzing to be back” after his loan spell at Rangers. He insists he has returned to Spurs a better player for his time in Scotland, a small but telling endorsement of the intensity north of the border.

Hearts ready record move as Aberdeen and Dundee United wait

Further down the Premiership ladder, the market is just as tense, if on a different financial scale.

Forest Green Rovers manager Robbie Savage has confirmed that the National League club stand to bank a record fee, potentially rising close to seven figures, if 29-year-old midfielder Laurent Mendy agrees personal terms with Heart of Midlothian. For Hearts, it is a statement-level outlay; for Forest Green, a transformative windfall.

Aberdeen, meanwhile, are wrestling with the numbers. Talks have been opened over a move for 21-year-old centre-back Jadel Katongo from Kayserispor, according to sources in Turkey. The finances involved, though, make any deal extremely difficult. Aberdeen want to strengthen, but the Turkish club’s demands are steep for an England Under-20 international still at the start of his senior career.

Dundee United find themselves waiting on paperwork. They are yet to receive clearance from Major League Soccer to finalise a loan deal for 21-year-old left-back Philippe Ndinga from Philadelphia Union. The agreement is in place, but until MLS signs off, the defender remains on the other side of the Atlantic.

Protecting a prodigy

Inside Tannadice, one youngster is already changing the conversation. Lorenzo Sassetti became Dundee United’s youngest ever player on Tuesday at just 15 years old. Manager Jim Goodwin has vowed to “fight tooth and nail” to keep the forward at the club as Serie A and English top-flight sides begin to circle. For United, the challenge is clear: build a pathway that convinces a teenager with options to stay put.

European subplots and absentees

On the continent, one decision has already shaped a European tie involving a Scottish club. Jagiellonia Bialystok have confirmed that United States midfielder AZ Jackson has refused to return to Poland for pre-season after spending the second half of last season on loan at Vancouver Whitecaps. The 24-year-old will not feature against Rangers in Europa League qualifying. For Philippe Clement’s side, that is one less creative threat to track in a fixture where fine margins will matter.

Transfers, medicals, refusals, and stand-offs. Scottish football’s summer window is moving at full tilt. The real question now is simple: who will look back on this frantic spell and see the foundations of a season transformed?