Rangers ‘keen’ on Arsenal star but Aston Villa likely to swoop as West Ham move ‘ended’ for former Celtic hero.
The January transfer window closes in less than 12 hours, yet there are still several deals pending. Celtic are poised to announce the arrival of Norwich City striker Adam Idah in the coming hours after he was photographed at Glasgow Airport.
Idah, 22, has made 22 appearances for the Republic of Ireland, scoring three goals, and is a formidable force in the EFL Championship.
Brendan Rodgers sought to improve his strikers and was successful in acquiring Idah, despite competition from England and Europe.
Rangers, meanwhile, will be forced to quickly reassess as their potential deal to sign Brazil’s Jefte begins to collapse. With just a few hours to go until all negotiations will be paused until the summer, here is the latest news from around the SPFL.
Aston Villa sweep up Rangers target
Aston Villa has agreed to sign Lino Sousa from Arsenal on a permanent basis (Fabrizio Romano). The Football transfer guru announced on Twitter that a “agreement is in place for the 2005-born fullback who’s set to complete medical in the next hours.”
Rangers, Galatasaray, and Juventus were all interested in Sousa, but the Villans struck gold on the penultimate day of play. According to Football Insider, the new left-back will be loaned out to Plymouth Argyle and will not be part of Unai Emery’s team for the 2023/24 season. If the Portuguese-born England-U19 international wants to succeed, he will have to replace both Lucas Digne and Alex Moreno.
West Ham’s move for ex-Celtic star ended
Al-Ittihad have destroyed West Ham United’s ambitions of signing Jota. The 24-year-old former Celtic winger would have to pay a substantial amount of tax to HMRC if he returned to Britain after earning a tax-free income in the Middle East (Nawaf Oga on X).
David Moyes’ side had hoped to sign the ex-Hoops star after Jota was left out of the Saudi Pro League squad due to the competition’s regulation limiting the number of international talents in each team. Goalkeeper Marcelo Grohe and striker Romarinho were crossed off Al-Ittihad’s list, leaving open the place for Jota to come back in to the mix.
Competition drops for shock Rangers star
Torino is unlikely to sign Rangers striker Cyriel Dessers, as the Italians are on the verge of signing former Cremonese team-mate David Okereke. However, Serie A rival Hellas Verona remains interested in the 29-year-old, but the Glasgow club’s lack of time to find a replacement will hinder a deal. (Daily Record).
Verona are still apparently planning a late bid for the Nigerian, but this would leave Philippe Clement with little time to find the necessary up-front replacement for his team. Many fans would have welcomed Dessers’ move a month ago, but he has since scored four goals and assisted three times in his previous seven games.
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