Old Firm Rivals Target Fares Ghedjemis in Transfer Battle

The season has not yet settled into its rhythm, but the transfer market around Glasgow is already crackling. Celtic and Rangers are at it again, this time on foreign soil, circling the same target while wrestling with their own internal sagas.

Old Firm collide over Fares Ghedjemis

Both clubs have set their sights on Fares Ghedjemis, the 23-year-old winger at Frosinone. An Algerian wide man with the pace and directness to stretch any back line, he fits the modern profile both Glasgow giants crave: young, energetic, resale value baked in.

There is a problem. Ghedjemis is understood to prefer staying in Italy, not for sentiment, but for status. The suggestion is clear: if he moves, he wants it to be to a bigger Serie A club rather than a leap to Scotland. Celtic and Rangers may be fighting each other, but for now they appear to be fighting his ambition too.

Celtic juggle exits, bids and Champions League jeopardy

Across the city at Celtic Park, the transfer picture is layered and tense. Alistair Johnston, one of the club’s most consistent performers, is now being tracked by Fulham, who are ready to challenge Everton for the right-back’s signature.

Celtic know his value on the pitch and in the market. The timing could hardly be more delicate, with Champions League play-off matches looming. Former striker Chris Sutton has already nailed his colours to the mast, insisting Johnston simply cannot be sold before those ties. From a football perspective, he’s right: losing the first-choice right-back on the eve of Europe’s biggest gateway would be a brutal self-inflicted wound.

Celtic are taking a far firmer line with Arne Engels. West Ham have already tested their resolve and been rebuffed. The message from Glasgow is blunt: £25m or nothing. Engels, 22, still has two years left on his contract, and Celtic are behaving like a club that intends to dictate the terms, not react to them. Sutton has also questioned why the Belgian would even contemplate a move to the Championship with West Ham, underlining how Celtic now see themselves in that market — not as a stepping stone to England’s second tier, but as a platform for the elite.

While Engels’ situation rumbles on, one potential arrival is much clearer. Mika Baur, the 22-year-old from Paderborn, is described as having his heart set on a move to Celtic and is keen to push it through as quickly as possible. That kind of intent matters. At a club where the pressure is permanent and the scrutiny unrelenting, a player desperate to be there often settles faster than a reluctant star chasing a pay rise.

If Celtic can land Baur, hold on to Johnston through the Champions League qualifiers and stare down West Ham over Engels, they walk into the autumn not just stronger, but with a statement of intent ringing across the continent.

Rangers brace for churn and key sale

Rangers, meanwhile, are preparing for something more dramatic: a mini-rebuild with both doors swinging. Up to four new signings are being lined up, but the Ibrox hierarchy know they must clear the decks first. A “plethora” of exits is expected, and that phrase usually translates to some painful goodbyes.

Chief among them is Nico Raskin. The Belgian midfielder, widely seen as one of Rangers’ prize assets, is now a likely candidate to be sold. It’s the hard reality of Rangers’ model: to fund a wave of fresh faces, at least one jewel has to go. Lose the wrong one, and the team’s spine starts to creak. Get it right, and the squad emerges deeper, sharper, more balanced.

The risk is obvious. The reward could be season-defining.

Early blow for new signing Makhanya

Even the new arrivals are not immune to disruption. Olwethu Makhanya, one of Rangers’ recent signings, may miss the Europa League tie against Jagiellonia Bialystok because of a visa issue. It is the sort of bureaucratic snag that can derail early momentum for a player and a club.

For Rangers, that Europa League qualifier is not just another fixture. It is money, prestige, and a measure of where this evolving squad stands. To be without a new defensive option at such a moment is far from ideal.

So the Old Firm find themselves in familiar territory: wrestling for the same winger in Italy, battling English clubs for their own stars, and trying to remodel squads on the fly while Europe waits. One question hangs over both sides as the window ticks on: who will emerge from this scramble not just with the bigger names, but with the stronger team when the real games begin?