Scottish Gossip: £7m bid made for Van Dijk, £5m move for Marshall

FOOTBALL GOSSIP

Southampton have made a £7m bid for Celtic defender Virgil van Dijk, with the offer tabled before Ronny Deila's squad flew out to Azerbaijan for their Champions League qualifier with Qarabag. (Daily Express)

Meanwhile, Qarabag's pitch is in such bad condition that Celtic will not be able to train on it the night before the game, as is custom when playing away from home in Europe. (Various)

The pitch will be the least of their problems says Qarabag playmaker Dani Quintana, who says Celtic will melt in the scorching heat. (Various)

David Marshall (left) is on the verge of West Brom move

Scotland number one David Marshall could be set for a £5m move to West Brom, rising to £6m with add-ons. (Daily Express)

Aberdeen midfielder Willo Flood says on-loan goalkeeper Danny Ward is the best he has ever played with. Ward, 22, recently signed a five-year deal with Liverpool before moving to Pittodrie for the season. (Various)

Flood has also urged the Aberdeen fans to get drunk before Thursday's Europa League tie with Kairat Almaty on order to recreate the load vocal backing they gave the side in their 1-0 win away to Dundee United on Sunday. A sell-out crowd of 20,000 is expected. (Various)

Hamilton Academical are taking a look at Macedonian defender Gjoko Zajkov who is available for a season long loan from French club Rennes. (Daily Star)

St Johnstone stars Dave Mackay and Murray Davidson are in line for earlier than expected comebacks from injury. (Various)

Willo Flood was impressed by the support Aberdeen received at Tannadice on Sunday

Douglas Park has stepped down from the Rangers board of directors to be replaced by son Graeme, while Rangers First have become the largest investors at Ibrox after completing a deal to buy almost 600,000 shares. (Herald)

Former Rangers striker Mark Hateley believes a lack of fitness cost them promotion last season, but says Mark Warburton's new look team are a different proposition now. (Various)

OTHER GOSSIP

Former Scotland star Chris Paterson says the country's rugby stars needs to play without fear of injury is they are to make an impression in the up-coming World Cup warm up internationals. (Daily Mail)

Gary Anderson believes Braehead hosting the World Series of Darts finals will be the big event which confirms Scotland as a genuine home for the Majors. (Daily Record)