Scottish Gossip: Rangers, Celtic, Hearts, Motherwell, St Johnstone, Dundee, Inverness, Cagliari, Hibs, Kilmarnock

FOOTBALL GOSSIP

Portugal central defender Bruno Alves, the 35-year-old who is Rangers' number one summer target, has agreed to join the Ibrox club from Serie A club Cagliari this summer.(Daily Record)

Rangers have informed Aberdeen they plan to hold signing talks with Dons captain Ryan Jack, the 25-year-old midfielder who is out of contract at the end of the season. (Scottish Sun)

Midfielder Graeme Shinnie, who scored for Aberdeen in Wednesday's win over Rangers, says Ibrox manager Pedro Caixinha's pre-match comments about the Dons had inspired his side to prove they are the second best team in Scotland. (Scottish Sun)

Rangers manager Pedro Caixinha has stepped up his war of words with Derek McInnes by suggesting his Aberdeen counterpart is jealous he got the Ibrox job ahead of him. (Scottish Sun)

Aberdeen manager Derek McInnes and Rangers counterpart Pedro Caixinha have called a truce in their war of words after a chat over a glass of wine. (Daily Record, print edition)

American striker Bjorn Johnsen looks certain to be leaving Hearts this summer following a heated exchange with head coach Ian Cathro that led to the 25-year-old being substituted at the break during Wednesday's defeat by St Johnstone. (Scottish Sun)

Portugal defender Bruno Alves is reportedly moving to Rangers from Cagliari

Scott McDonald is set to quit Motherwell, the 33-year-old striker having informed manager Stephen Robinson he has chosen not to trigger a one-year contract extension only 48 hours after helping the club avoid relegation from the Scottish Premiership with a win over Kilmarnock. (Daily Record)

Motherwell manager Stephen Robinson, who was due to inform some of his players of their futures at the club on Thursday, admits he faces some tough decisions about whether to keep some club stalwarts because of their age. (The National)

On-loan Patrick Roberts, the 20-year-old winger who scored twice in Celtic's 5-0 hammering of Partick Thistle on Thursday, has refused to reveal whether his future lies with the Scottish champions or parent club Manchester City. (Scottish Sun)

Turkish striker Nadir Ciftci has returned to Celtic after his loan spell in Poland with Pogon Szczecin was cut short through injury. (Daily Record, print edition)

St Johnstone winger Danny Swanson, who is moving to Hibernian this summer, says he pretended to be a fan of Edinburgh rivals Hearts when he signed for the Tynecastle club in 2015 so he would get the fans on his side. (The Scotsman)

Midfielder Danny Swanson says the death of Hibernian-daft friend Shaun Woodburn on New Year's Eve convinced him to join the Edinburgh club from Hibernian this summer. (Scottish Sun)

Kilmarnock interim manager Lee McCulloch remains in the dark about his long-term future at Rugby Park despite being given permission to free certain players and offer new contracts to others. (Sunday Post)

Scott McDonald, who celebrated with his family after the win over Kilmarnock, is said to have told Motherwell he will be leaving

Lee Clark, who left Kilmarnock to become Bury manager in February, will be at Rugby Park on Saturday as his former side celebrate avoiding relegation as they host Ross County. (Daily Record, print edition)

Auditors sounded a warning over whether Dundee United can continue as a going concern as they confirmed pre-tax annual losses of £1.55m following their relegation from the Premiership last season. (The Herald)

Manager Stephen Robinson has promised Lanarkshire rivals Hamilton Academical that Motherwell will play their strongest team against Inverness Caledonian Thistle, who are in bottom place, one point behind Accies, in Saturday's final game. (Daily Record, print edition)

Dundee midfielder James Vincent hopes to help his former Inverness Caledonian Thistle team-mates avoid automatic relegation by helping his own side beat second-bottom Hamilton Academical on Saturday. (The Herald)

The Football Association in England has voted in favour of introducing retrospective bans for players who dive or feign injury from next season, with the move based on the law already used in Scotland. (The National)

OTHER GOSSIP

Scotland will no longer be guaranteed at least one entrant into the European Champions Cup after European Rugby agreed a rule change that means the top seven teams will qualify automatically from the Pro12.(The Herald)