Rangers

Turkey Under-21 winger Emirhan Demircan has rejected Rangers, Besiktas and Hoffenheim after his contract ended with Bayern Munich and has agreed a deal and undergone a medical with Utrecht. (Fabrizio Romano on X), external

Hamburg have joined the race to sign Westerlo forward Matija Frigan and are willing to launch an £8.5m bid that would put Rangers out of the running. (Daily Record), external

New Hull City boss Sergej Jakirovic could make Westerlo striker Matija Frigan one of his first acquistions. (Novilist), external

Brentford, Everton, West Ham United, Lens, Lille, Rennes, and Strasbourg are all tracking 22-year-old Rangers striker Hamza Igamane. (TeamTalk), external

Former Rangers midfielder Steven Davis, currently on Northern Ireland's coaching staff, says he has not given up on his dream of managing the Ibrox club some day. (The National), external

Liverpool are in talks with former Rangers manager Giovanni van Bronckhorst to become their assistant head coach. (TalkSport), external

Mitchel White has joined Liverpool from Rangers as a first-team physical performance coach. (Glasgow Times), external

Read the rest of Friday's Scottish gossip.

Rangers forward Hamza Igamane, 22, is being tracked by French quartet Lens, Lille, Rennes and Strasbourg, along with clubs in England. (Foot Mercato, external - in French)

Brentford, Everton and West Ham are keen on Rangers forward Hamza Igamane. (Football Insider), external

Boss of Latvian side RFS Gregory Vignal dreams of returning to Rangers as manager one day and thinks his current side would finish in the top three of the Scottish Premiership. (Daily Record), external

And Vignal says former Chelsea and Liverpool boss Rafael Benitez was interested in the Rangers vacancy before Russell Martin was appointed head coach at Ibrox. (Glasgow Times), external

Read the rest of Thursday's Scottish gossip.

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Rangers midfielder Mohamed Diomande scored the winning spot-kick for Ivory Coast in a 5-4 penalty shootout victory against the Canadian Shield winners, Canada.

Hosts Canada were guaranteed to be crowned the inaugural winners of the invitational tournament by forcing the penalties after a 0-0 draw with bottom-side, Ivory Coast, who lost 1-0 to New Zealand three days before.

Substitute Diomande, 23, fired the decisive fifth penalty under Canadian goalkeeper Dayne St. Clair just after 23:00 local time.

Rangers are considering a move for Christian Eriksen, 33, on a free transfer ahead of his imminent departure from Manchester United, according to former Old Trafford assistant manager Mick Brown. (Football Insider), external

Rangers could be priced out of a move for Croatian striker Matija Frigan, with Hamburg willing to pay Belgian club Westerlo around £8.5m for the 22-year-old. (Daily Record), external

New Rangers sporting director Kevin Thelwell says he won't shy away from making ruthless decisions as he helps manager Russell Martin reshape the squad at Ibrox. (Daily Record), external

Read the rest of Wednesday's Scottish gossip.

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We asked for your views on Philippe Clement's exclusive interview with BBC Scotland.

The former Rangers boss said it was "a pity the board didn't have the patience" with him during his time at Ibrox.

Here's what some of you said:

Paul: Clement got more than enough patience, too much in fact. We as fans are happy to bide our time as long as we can see progress, but unfortunately under him we were going backwards.

Peter: Spot on from Clement, finally some sense made of it all. Go with the plan, don't break it all up just because of a few bad results. Was sad to see him go.

Sandy: It will never be a popular thought, but I agree with Clement. I believe he was a good coach and with time that group of players would have developed the consistency he needed. What was missing was an extra cool head on the pitch. For example, every time Leon Balogun played we were a better team.

Gray: No point in moaning about not getting enough time. You don't get that with the Old Firm and that surely would have been made clear to Clement at the start of his tenure. If you don't like it, don't take the job.

Stuart: Clement's comments only further confirm he did not understand the demands of Rangers and the fact he still does not understand the Queen's Park loss was monumentally embarrassing is the best evidence of that.

Derek: Crazy he thinks he deserved more time and to tell us to have more patience when he dropped points left right and centre, then topped it off with a defeat to Queen's Park. No clear style and the inability to break teams down cost this man his job not the fans.

Barry: Clement should've been given more time. I'd rather have him than Russell Martin or Barry Ferguson. This would've allowed him to develop players and bring in new ones. Every team has a dip, but lack of resources don't help.

James: He was in a no-win situation. Board was poor and buckled under supporter pressure. However, the cup loss to Queen's Park showed his style of play wasn't working with the squad he had and that he'd lost the players. There was no coming back from that.

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AEK Athens are interested in Rangers forward Cyriel Dessers, 30. (Record), external

Free agent Kwame Poku, 23, is a possible target for Rangers after most recently playing for Peterborough while fellow wingers Nedim Bajrami and Ross McCausland could be moved out of Ibrox. (Sun), external

Rangers are one of a number of clubs interested in Poku. (Glasgow Times), external

Former Rangers winger Jamie Murphy believes Conor Coady could work well as part of Russell Martin's new Ibrox team. (Record), external

But Rangers have dropped their interest in Paris St-Germain winger Oumar Camara, 18. (Herald - subscription required), external

Read Tuesday's Scottish gossip

Rangers are tracking Westerlo forward Matija Frigan, 22, while a move for Maccabi Tel Aviv striker Dor Turgeman, 21, remains on. (Record), external

But Rangers have been told to up their £4m offer for Turgeman. (Football Scotland), external

Read Monday's Scottish gossip

Alasdair Lamont
BBC Sport Scotland Commentator

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Former Rangers manager Philippe Clement has heaped praise on captain James Tavernier for the impact he has had in his decade at the club.

The right-back has lifted all three domestic trophies, playing 513 times while contributing 130 goals - a record for a British defender - and 142 assists.

Nonetheless, the 33-year-old has often been a target for supporter ire as Rangers have commonly lost out to Celtic in the battle for silverware during his time at Ibrox.

"If you're a captain in a winning team then you're an amazing captain," Clement told BBC Scotland. "If you're a captain in a losing team you're not a good captain.

"That's life of being a captain or being a manager in that sense for fans. It's not an easy job, but [Tavernier] got used to it in a way and gave his best.

"He gave everything for the club and he tried to help all the players adapt to the environment of Rangers and what fans are expecting of the players."

Read more from BBC Scotland's interview with ex-Rangers boss Clement

New Rangers head coach Russell Martin wants reunited with midfielder Flynn Downes, who he signed for Swansea City and the 26-year-old's current club, Southampton, but he could be thwarted by the £10m price tag, while Harry Toffolo is interested in a switch to Ibrox with the left-back poised to quit Nottingham Forest. (Scottish Sun On Sunday), external

Rangers have opened talks with Leicester City over Conor Coady, who will have to take a pay cut following relegation to the Championship, but the 32-year-old centre-half's future is also unclear because of question marks over the long-term future of team boss Ruud van Nistelrooy. (Sunday Mail), external

Dor Turgeman says he is ready for his next challenge in Europe amid interest from Rangers and clubs in Italy and Spain after the £4m-rated 21-year-old striker helped Maccabi Tel Aviv win the league title in Israel. (Sport 5 via Sunday Mail), external

Rangers head coach Russell Martin aims to retain Nicolas Raskin and Mohamed Diomande as he wants to keep his best players amid reported interest in the midfield duo. (Glasgow Times), external

Basel, Leuven and Cincinnati have expressed their interest in Rangers winger Ross McCausland and would all prefer a permanent transfer for the 22-year-old Northern Ireland international. (Sky Sports), external

Russell Martin says he "doesn't see a reason" to change the Rangers captaincy, currently in possession of right-back James Tavernier, upon his return to the club as head coach. (The National On Sunday), external

Issame Charai, who remains on Rangers' coaching staff after joining in January, is the frontrunner to take over at Westerlo with Timmy Simons likely to exit the Belgian Pro League club. (DH via Sunday Mail), external

Read Sunday's Scottish Gossip in full.

Alasdair Lamont
BBC Sport Scotland Commentator

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Former Rangers manager Philippe Clement believes striker Cyriel Dessers would be an icon at the club had his goals led to a league title victory.

Dessers has scored 51 times in 109 games for the Ibrox side, including 18 in last season's Scottish Premiership.

But the 30-year-old has never completely won over fans and pundits as a result of his sometimes erratic finishing.

However, Clement feels the forward has been harshly treated.

"I think Cyriel got abused like nobody else at the club or on the pitch," he told BBC Scotland

"But he was always there to work hard, to do everything for the club every day, every training session, every game.

"And also in this period in his career he never scored as many goals as he did at Rangers in the past teams he played with.

"So in the end he performed really well with his qualities and he was top scorer at the end of [last season].

"Of course, fans always want more. I think if he would have played in a team who won the league then he would be a good player for everybody, but if you don't win the league then for the fans you are not a good player anymore.

"So that's life at Rangers and that's also the life fans can have. It's only as a club you need to see through things and you need to look at things rationally and not emotionally."

Read more from BBC Scotland's interview with ex-Rangers boss Clement

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John Souttar said Scotland fans were entitled to boo off the side after a "poor" all-round display in the 3-1 home defeat to Iceland.

The Rangers centre-back's header levelled the friendly match at Hampden, but an abject performance from Steve Clarke's men resulted in a sobering loss.

A number of the near 33,000 crowd launched into boos on both the half-time and full-time whistles.

Goalkeeper Cieran Slicker endured a nightmare debut after replacing the injured Angus Gunn in the opening stages, but many of the Scotland team failed to reach their standards and Souttar preferred to focus on the general display.

"Look, the result was collective," said the defender. "I don't think any of us could say we were great in the game. So it's on all of us. Everyone's got to take responsibility

"It was the exact opposite of what we wanted to happen. We wanted to start the game fast, press high, dominate the ball, and I think we were poor.

"Games like this at Hampden, we want to dominate, we want to press high and get the crowd on our side and we didn't do that.

"You don't want to be part of that, but the fans have paid their money and they can boo if they want.

"When we win, they're behind us so it's part and parcel of football."

Rangers have opened talks with Maccabi Tel Aviv over the signing of 21-year-old Israel forward Dor Turgeman, who also has Italian and Spanish interest and could cost around £4m. (Daily Record), external

Rangers were one of several clubs who approached Maccabi Tel Aviv about a mid-season transfer for striker Dor Turgeman. (Sport 5 via Scottish Sun), external

New Rangers head coach Russell Martin is weighing up a move for defender Conor Coady, with the 32-year-old's future with Leicester City uncertain after relegation from the Premier League and despite having a year left of his contract. (Daily Record), external

Head coach Russell Martin wants to build his new-look Rangers team around Mohamed Diomande and will reject any approach from Everton for the 23-year-old midfielder. (Football Insider), external

Newcastle United are set to sign 16-year-old Rangers left-back Oliver Goodbrand, who had interest from abroad but is now due on Tyneside for medical. (Craig Hope on X), external

Robbie Ure, the 21-year-old now with Swedish club Sirius, says the opportunity to make the jump from Scotland's fifth tier with Rangers' B team to Belgium's second division with their Anderlecht counterparts played a big part in his decision to leave Ibrox two years ago. (The Herald), external

Read Saturday's Scottish Gossip in full.

Nick McPheat
BBC Sport Scotland

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Russell Martin's career was on the perfect trajectory. In the space of fours years he had gone from the third tier to the Premier League.

But the new Rangers boss was served an almighty reality check in England's top flight after being sacked by Southampton with the team bottom in December.

Martin guided Saints to promotion via the Championship play-offs in his first season in charge, but was dismissed after a 5-0 defeat to Tottenham made it 13 losses in 16 Premier League games.

At that point, they only had one win, against Everton in November, and their tally of 11 goals was a league low.

Prior to his arrival at St Mary's, the former Ibrox defender gained a positive reputation for his attractive, possession-based style at MK Dons and Swansea.

His ability to implement that approach ultimately led him to Southampton and the Premier League, but he faced intense criticism for refusing to compromise in a division many regard as the world's best - and most unforgiving.

At the time of Martin's sacking, Saints had just five points from 16 games.

Their goal difference was -25. Only four teams have had a worse goal difference after 16 matches of a Premier League season.

Southampton had the most errors leading to goals (10) and most mistakes leading to shots (26). Martin's side also faced a league high of 108 shots on target.

But those damning statistics certainly do not mean he is destined for failure at Ibrox.

Dig a little deeper and there are underlying numbers that highlight why the new Rangers regime have decided the ex-Scotland defender is their man.

Martin's style is all about control. Despite being rooted to the foot of the table, Saints still managed an average possession of 53% across the manager's 16 Premier League games.

Over the course of the season, only six teams - Manchester City, Liverpool, Arsenal, Chelsea, Spurs and Manchester United - averaged more possession.

Martin's teams keep the ball well and they pass the ball well. Remarkably, his Saints side's 88% passing accuracy was bettered only by Man City last term.

His defence still gave away a load of opportunities, though, accumulating an expected goals (xG) against tally of 38 over just 16 matches.

However, the attack's failure to take their chances let the manager down, scoring just 11 goals from an xG total of 17.

How those numbers will translate to the Scottish Premiership with Rangers - a team with, by a distance, the second largest budget in the league - is unknown.

But, in theory, the new Ibrox hierarchy will expect Martin's controlling style to bring them consistent domestic results.

Kheredine Idessane
BBC Sport Scotland Senior Reporter

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Rangers are "not oblivious to the noise" among the fanbase over Russell Martin's appointment as head coach, says chief executive Patrick Stewart.

"I'm aware supporters have strong views on who the right person for the role is," Stewart said. "We're not oblivious to the noise. Not at all.

"We're confident though - because we conducted such a thorough process - that the supporters will get behind him, particularly when they see him in action."

With pre-season training just a matter of weeks away, Stewart knows the club has to stop sacking managers after the short reigns of Giovanni van Bronckhorst, Michael Beale and Philippe Clement did not deliver what was required.

The challenge for Martin is not an easy one: deliver culture change and good results simultaneously.

If he can, he will be an integral part of the "strong future" his chief executive sees on Rangers' horizon.

Read more: Rangers now in 'seismic' period

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How much money will Russell Martin have to spend on new signings this summer?

Chief executive Patrick Stewart says a "decent amount" of the £20m investment promised by the club's new owners will be made available for Martin's transfer budget.

Michael Grant, chief football writer for The Times in Scotland, told the BBC's Scottish Football podcast: "Rangers have to arm him to be able to deal with Celtic.

"That's going to be extremely difficult for the club because when you look through the squad there's so much work to do.

"There's so many questions about players that are already there, the defence almost has to be rebuilt. We don't know if the midfield is going to stick together or whether a couple of assets might be sold. There's question marks about up front.

"All of this has to be addressed and pretty quickly. So you're immediately applying pressure on Rangers.

"If Martin stumbles in the first couple of games and they're behind again immediately, it seems like the same old cycle, doesn't it?

"The recruitment team has to get this right, they really have to arm him properly."

While Martin's appointment has not been universally welcomed by the Rangers support, Grant said: "Critics are always going to be noisier than those who back him.

"It's an easier default position to just say, 'Oh I don't fancy this guy, he was rubbish at Southampton.'

"I think he'll pleasantly surprise a lot of Rangers supporters. They will watch him and listen to him and think, 'Oh right, this guy's got something about him.'"

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Former Rangers forward Steven Naismith says new Ibrox head coach Russell Martin's "clear identity" is all about breaking down teams who sit deep.

Naismith played with Martin for Scotland and Norwich City, with Martin going on to manage MK Dons, Swansea City and Southampton.

"He's got a clear style, a clear identity and that, for me, is massive," said Naismith, who played for Rangers from 2007-12.

"Rangers need someone who can understand what they want and can implement it. Russell has done that now at three clubs.

"Nine times out of 10 in Scotland, Rangers will play against a low block, teams sitting in, and it's about breaking them down. I think the philosophy of Russell Martin is all about that.

"He wants his team to have lots of possession, push the opposition deep and then hurt them. Communication is one of his strongest points. He understands the highs and lows and what it takes to get the best out of a player."

Martin, 39, briefly played for Rangers in 2018, with the last of his 17 outings a remarkable 5-5 draw away to Hibernian, while there were sore 4-0 and 5-0 defeats to Celtic.

"If you don't understand the league, if you don't understand the club, that part can get overlooked and it can cause you big problems," said Naismith.

"Russell has experienced it, although it was brief. He understands the demand and he was probably at the club at a time when the quality of what was on offer wasn't great, so he's seen how tough it can be."

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Philippe Clement believes the new-found "stability" at Rangers will help Russell Martin as he bids to restore the club's on-field fortunes.

Martin was appointed Clement's permanent successor as head coach on Thursday, a week after a US consortium completed its takeover of the club.

"A lot of things have changed in the club in the last year or the last few years," Clement told BBC Scotland.

"The main thing is the club has stability to work in a good way with the players, with staff, with everybody in the club to have a consistent story.

"I think that is the big part, that the club has been lacking for years already."

Read more: Clement urges Rangers to 'show more patience'

Robin Propper, who joined Rangers from Twente last summer, has agreed a three-year contract to return to the Dutch club, who will pay about half the £2.5m they received for the 31-year-old centre-half. (WFCGRONINGEN via Twente Fans), external

Rangers are interested in signing Vicente Pizarro, but Juventus and Valencia are among other clubs to have scouted the 22-year-old Colo-Colo and Chile midfielder. (TeamTalk), external

New Rangers head coach Russell Martin says captain James Tavernier will be "hugely important" next season and, while there are a few positions that have to be strengthened fairly quickly, he is willing to "be surprised" by some players in the current squad. (Sky Sports), external

Russell Martin hopes to have some new signings in his squad by the start of pre-season, with Rangers chief executive Patrick Stewart promising the new head coach a significant chunk of the £20m set to be injected into the club by their new American owners. (Daily Record), external

Steven Gerrard's much-touted return to Rangers as head coach was "never on the cards", according to former assistant Michael Beale. (TalkSport via Glasgow Times), external

Davide Ancelotti missed out on being Rangers head coach after stalling on a potential move to Glasgow and now the exiting Real Madrid assistant has had his chances of taking over at Como extinguished after the Italian club blocked Cesc Fabregas' potential switch to Internazionale. (Daily Record), external

Davide Ancelotti is one of several options being considered by Spanish second-tier club Deportivo La Coruna as they look for a new head coach and negotiations are expected in the coming days. (The Athletic via Sky Sports), external

Read Friday's Scottish Gossip in full.

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