Scottish Gossip: Celtic, Rangers, Hibernian, Dundee, St Johnstone, Aston Villa, Barcelona, Hamilton, Norwich, Fulham

FOOTBALL GOSSIP

Celtic have had a fourth bid - of around £2.75m - for winger Scott Sinclair rejected by Aston Villa, with the club relegated to the English Championship demanding £5m for the 27-year-old who signed a four-year contract after his move from Manchester City last summer. (Daily Mail)

Aston Villa are holding out for more than £3.5m for Scott Sinclair after rejecting Celtic's fourth bid for the winger. (The Sun, print edition)

As Celtic attempt to beat the Champions League deadline to sign Scott Sinclair from Aston Villa, latest arrival Kolo Toure insists he has not joined Celtic to wind down his career after the 35-year-old was released by Liverpool - and he wants to win trophies. (Daily Record)

Celtic remain in the hunt for a wildcard signing ahead of Wednesday's first leg of their Champions League qualifier against Astana as defender Kolo Toure, who signed on Sunday, will not be involved in Kazakhstan. (The Herald)

Young Irish defender Eoghan O'Connell, who scored in Celtic's draw with Leicester City on Saturday, has urged manager Brendan Rodgers to choose him to face Astana in this week's Champions League qualifier in Kazakhstan. (The Herald)

Aston Villa winger Scott Sinclair (left) is wanted by Celtic

Celtic scraped past their last Kazakh rivals when they needed a stoppage-time goal to beat Shakhter Karagandy and reach the Champions League group stage, but former Aberdeen midfielder Stuart Duff, who played in the country, has warned that Astana will be a big step up from that test and reckons it's the worst draw the Scots could have got in their bid to reach the group stage. (Daily Record)

Scottish Professional Football League chief executive Neil Doncaster says he is "relaxed" about the ruling that means Celtic will not be involved in the second weekend of the new Premiership season because they are playing a lucrative friendly against Internazionale in Limerick instead. (The Herald)

Celtic could face Lionel Messi in their friendly against Barcelona this weekend after all because the forward has returned early from holiday despite being given extra time off to recover from Argentina's Copa America campaign. (Daily Express, print edition)

Ghanaian striker Joe Dodoo believes Rangers can win the Scottish title this season and that it was the compelling reason for leaving English champions Leicester City this summer to sign at Ibrox. (The Scotsman)

Norwich City manager Alex Neil is poised to make a £15m bid for Fulham's Scotland striker, Ross McCormack. (Daily Record, print edition)

Hamilton Academical hope to have Greek defender Georgios Sarris in their squad to face Livingston in the Scottish League Cup on Saturday after agreeing terms with the 26-year-old who spent a season in Turkey's second tier with Kayseri Erciyesspor. (The National, print edition)

Norwich are being linked with Scotland striker Ross McCormack, who is with Fulham

Dundee striker Greg Stewart, who scored a hat-trick in Saturday's League Cup win over Dumbarton, says there were many who did not think he could make the jump from Cowdenbeath to the Scottish top flight and has vowed to prove doubters wrong again this season. (The Scotsman)

Louis Moult, who scored twice in Motherwell's 3-1 League Cup victory over Annan Athletic on Saturday, has vowed to come back stronger following his impending lay-off for surgery on an injured groin. (The Herald)

Hibernian manager Neil Lennon has predicted a busy week of transfer activity at Easter Road despite admitting that his second string had given him food for thought after a 1-0 win over English Championship side Birmingham City. (Daily Record)

St Johnstone defender Joe Shaughnessy insists he would welcome a universal crackdown on pulling and pushing inside the penalty area after his side were awarded three spot-kicks in one half against Scottish League Cup opponents Falkirk. (The Scotsman)

OTHER GOSSIP

Olympic cycling champion Sir Chris Hoy has accused the International Olympic Committee of "passing the buck" after it refused to ban ­Russia's team from competing in the Rio Games for running a state-directed doping programme. (The Scotsman)