Scottish Gossip: Celtic, Rangers, Man Utd, Hibs, Hearts, Kilmarnock, Morelos, Griffiths, Dembele

Scottish gossip

Celtic's hopes of a substantial sell-on fee boost for Moussa Dembele have increased after Manchester United were "given the green light" to complete the £60m signing of the French striker from Lyon this summer. (Daily Star)

Chelsea have also been encouraged in their pursuit of Moussa Dembele as Lyon president Jean-Michel Aulas admitted they will "sell the players who want to leave". (Daily Mail)

Argentine striker Federico Rasic, most recently playing with Pafos in Cyprus, has arrived in Scotland, with Kilmarnock considering signing the 27-year-old, who holds Croatian citizenship. (Daily Record)

Kilmarnock have vowed to investigate alleged racism towards Rangers striker Alfredo Morelos during Wednesday's 2-1 win over the Ibrox side at Rugby Park. (Scottish Sun)

Celtic striker Leigh Griffiths has apologised for liking a tweet that included a sectarian jibe against Rangers fans, claiming he did it in error. (Glasgow Evening Times)

Ivorian midfielder Eboue Kouassi, who suffered a knee ligament injury in 2018 soon after joining Celtic, has picked up a medial knee ligament problem during a freak training collision while on loan to Genk, who have an option to buy the 22-year-old at the end of the season. (Daily Record)

Hibernian head coach Jack Ross has revealed his squad was down to the bare bones, with every available player stripped for action, as they defeated Ross County in midweek. (Edinburgh Evening News)

Ross County forward Ross Stewart has suffered an injury setback, having been withdrawn from the travelling party for Wednesday's defeat by Hibs after being earmarked for a return from a hamstring problem. (Press & Journal, print edition)

Hearts centre-half John Souttar says his side's next two games - against relegation rivals Hamilton Academical and St Mirren - are the most important during his four years at Tynecastle. (Edinburgh Evening News)

Celtic manager Neil Lennon has expressed empathy for Rangers counterpart Steven Gerrard, who has seen his side's title challenge falter in recent weeks, pointing out that he lost a five-point lead to their city rivals during his first full season in management with the Glasgow club. (The Herald)

The Scottish Professional Football League could introduce a new West of Scotland League to run alongside the East and South of Scotland Leagues at tier six of their pyramid system next season, with junior heavyweights including Clydebank, Kilwinning Rangers and Darvel among a host of clubs already expressing an interest in joining amid concerns for what the impact would have on the junior game. (Daily Record)

In-form Kilmarnock striker Eamonn Brophy, whose winner against Rangers on Sunday has put Celtic in pole position to retain the Scottish title, says a return to the Scotland squad "is not on my mind". (The Scotsman)