Saturday's Scottish gossip

FOOTBALL GOSSIP

Celtic are close to a £2.4m deal for Sporting Gijon's Serbian striker Stefan Scepovic, while Ghana winger Wasako Mubarak is in Scotland to finalise his loan move from Rubi Kazan. (Daily Express)

Newcastle are keen on Celtic defender Virgil van Dijk but are not prepared to meet the £8m asking price. (Daily Express)

Rangers boss Ally McCoist has emerged as a target for Crystal Palace, while former Celtic manager Neil Lennon is the bookmakers' favourite for the vacancy at Selhurst Park. (Sun)

And McCoist is heartbroken after seeing images of former Ibrox team-mate Paul Gascoigne as the 47-year-old battles with alcoholism. (Various)

Scotland U21 forward Islam Feruz, 18, is leaving Chelsea for a loan deal with Russian club Krylia Sovetov Samara. (Sun)

Inverness midfielder Marley Watkins reckons today is the perfect time to take on Celtic since he thinks the visitors will be focused on next week's Champions League play-off. (Sun)

St Johnstone manager Tommy Wright has invited his old Manchester City team-mate Shaun Goater to take a coaching session with the club's strikers. (Various)

Hibernian winger Alex Harris sys he was baffled by the way previous manager Terry Butcher handled his comeback from injury last season but is convinced he is on the way to rediscovering the kind of form that saw him referred to "Scotland's Theo Walcott" by the former England captain. (Various)

OTHER GOSSIP

Andy Murray insists he has trained "harder and smarter" than he has done for a long time ahead of the US Open in New York. (Various)

Edinburgh second row Grant Gilchrist, who captained Scotland on this summer's tour, is facing up to six weeks out after ankle surgery. (Scotsman)