Saturday's Scottish Gossip: Jefte, Shankland, O'Riley, Abada, Kvistgaarden, Kobayashi, Johnston, Thomas, Fraser, Lagerbielke, Tilio, Bevan, Moriah-Welsh

Rangers have reached an agreement with Fluminense to sign 20-year-old left-back Jefte, who will be given a contract until June 2027, but APOEL Nicosia need to give the green light as the Brazilian is currently on loan to the Cypriot club. (Fabrizio Romano on X)

Jefte was left out of APOEL Nicosia's squad for Friday's match against Nea Salamis as the left-back awaits a decision by the Cypriot club to cut short his loan from Fluminese to complete a permanent switch to Rangers. (Football Scotland)

Rangers have approached Leicester City to sign left-back Luke Thomas on loan this month after the 22-year-old's spell with Sheffield United was cut short because of a lack of game time, but any move to Ibrox would not be with an option to buy as that would be too expensive for the Scottish Premiership club. (Football Insider)

Lawrence Shankland, the 28-year-old Scotland striker, has made it clear to Heart of Midlothian he wants to join Rangers before the end of the January window, with the Ibrox club's hunt for a forward accelerated by the injury to on-loan Brighton & Hove Albion 22-year-old Abdallah Sima. (TeamTalk)

Rangers are plotting a late January bid for Heart of Midlothian striker Lawrence Shankland following Abdallah Sima's long-term injury, but a deal this month would be difficult to complete with the 28-year-old having been offered a record-breaking deal to stay at Tynecastle but having not yet penned new terms. (Football Insider)

Heart of Midlothian manager Steven Naismith still hopes to sign 28-year-old midfielder Scott Fraser on loan from Charlton Athletic this month but is willing to wait until the summer to complete the deal after the move stalled when the English club sacked manager Michael Appleton. (Football Scotland)

Scott Fraser, who previously had a transfer to Motherwell fall through after failing to agree terms, remains in Scotland after having travelled north to sign for Heart of Midlothian and is still hoping Charlton Athletic will give him the green light to make the move despite having been left in limbo as the English club want to appoint a new manager first. (Daily Record)

Atletico Madrid are unlikely to make an improved offer to Celtic after having a bid for 23-year-old Matt O'Riley rejected as it would require another midfielder to leave the Spanish club in order to make room. (The Daily Briefing)

Israel winger Liel Abada has joined Denmark midfielder Matt O'Riley on Celtic's "not for sale" list as manager Brendan Rodgers reiterated his stance amid reports linking the 22-year-old with several clubs in England. (Football Scotland)

Celtic do not plan to make any more signings this month following the addition of winger Nicolas Kuhn from Rapid Vienna, which means a deal for Brondby striker Mathias Kvistgaarden, which had been making progress, now looks to be off the cards. (Football Insider)

Major Soccer League clubs Real Salt Lake and Dallas are keen on a loan deal for Celtic centre-half Yuki Kobayashi, with the Scottish champions open to a move as the Japanese 23-year-old has yet to play under Brendan Rodgers. (Daily Record)

Two English Championship clubs, including West Bromwich Albion, are interested in Celtic winger Mikey Johnston, Italian clubs Verona, Genoa and Leece are interested in centre-half Gustaf Lagerbielke, while forward Marco Tilio is also wanted by Melbourne City and Sydney. (Daily Record)

Celtic left-back Adam Montgomery has picked a hamstring injury just days after joining Motherwell on loan and it will sideline the 21-year-old for three months. (Scottish Sun)

Hibernian are keen on a move for 20-year-old Bournemouth centre-half Owen Bevan, while Cherries midfielder Nathan Moriah-Welsh is also on the radar. (Daily Record)

Hibernian hope to announce the signing of midfielder Nathan Moriah-Welsh on Saturday as a replacement for Melbourne City-bound Jimmy Jeggo and are also aiming to land Bournemouth team-mate Owen Bevan as the answer to his team's central defensive crisis. (Edinburgh Evening News)

A striker is next on St Johnstone manager Craig Levein's shopping list after the arrival of midfielder Connor Smith from Heart of Midlothian. (The Courier, print edition)

Aberdeen are closing in signing targets, but deals may go to the wire on deadline day. (Press & Journal)

Udinese are considering signing 24-year-old Scotland centre-back Ryan Porteous from sister club Watford and former club Hibernian would be due 20% of any transfer due to the sell-on clause inserted into his contract. (Sky Sports)

Watford manager Valerien Ismael has refused to rule out a transfer exit for centre-half Ryan Porteous to Udinese, admitting "anything can happen". (Football Scotland)

West Ham United are one of three Premier League clubs who have held talks with Al-Ittihad winger Jota after the 24-year-old's summer transfer from Celtic turned sour. (Talksport)

Brighton & Hove Albion are ready to make a significant six-figure bid to land Rangers 18-year-old Archie Stevens, the forward who was part of the England squad at last year's under-17 World Cup finals. (Daily Record, print edition)

Former Celtic manager Ange Postecoglou, who joined Tottenham Hotspur last summer, is among the candidates to succeed Jurgen Klopp at Liverpool after the German said he would stand down at the end of the season. (The Times)

The Scottish FA is poised to formally give American billionaire Bill Foley the green light to purchase a £6m stake in Hibernian, with the governing body close to confirming their satisfaction that he will not have any say or authority over the actual running of the club. (Scottish Sun)

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