Sunday's Scottish gossip

FOOTBALL GOSSIP

Celtic are poised to sign 19-year-old Belgian winger Zakaria Bakkali for £750,000 from PSV Eindhoven. (Sunday Mail)

Rangers caretaker manager Kenny McDowall is pleading with referee Craig Thomson to keep his cards in his pocket in today's League Cup semi-final with Celtic. (Sunday Mail)

Dundee United goal hero Nadir Ciftci only found out after yesterday's win over Aberdeen that a booking in the match rules him out of the League Cup final. (Various)

Dundee United winger Gary Mackay-Steven insists he will be desperate to beat Celtic, the club he has agreed to join in the summer, if they are to meet in the League Cup final. (Sun)

Sunderland winger Charis Mavrais, a target for Celtic, is ready to rejoin former club Panathinaikos. (Sunday Mail)

Rangers shareholder Dave King is in Glasgow for a series of meetings with supporters ahead of the general meeting he has called in a bid to remove the Ibrox board. (Sun)

Celtic boss Ronny Deila admits the dreadful state of the Hampden pitch may force him into a tactical rethink for today's game. (Sunday Herald)

Former Rangers manager Walter Smith is cautioning against dismissing his old team's chances, although they have never been ranked bigger outsiders for a derby. (Sunday Herald)

Former Rangers star Steven Naismith thinks midfielder Nicky Law needs to find his best form if Rangers are to upset Celtic at Hampden today. (Sun)

Celtic's on-loan defender Jason Denayer has never even seen an Old Firm fixture on TV. (Sunday Express)

Former Celtic boss Neil Lennon has turned down the chance to work as a media pundit at today's League Cup semi-final to avoid putting any extra pressure on his successor Ronny Deila. (Mail on Sunday)

James Dayton has not ruled out staying on St Mirren permanently after joining on loan from Oldham. (Sun)

OTHER GOSSIP

Keith Robertson, a Grand Slam hero from 1984, thinks 2015 could be a good year for Scotland. (Mail on Sunday)