Scottish Football News

Celtic have targeted young Barcelona midfield star, Marc Crosas, as a potential summer signing. Celtic manager Gordon Strachan is keen to strengthen his squad even further ahead of the new season and Crosas revealed he would jump at the chance of a season-long loan with the Hoops.

The Barcelona midfielder is wanted by the SPL champions and also by Spanish club Sevilla.

Crosas is under contract at the Nou Camp until 2010, howver both the interested clubs feel they can win his services for one season. New Barcelona coach Pep Guardiola rates 20-year-old Crosas highly but with an already seemingly limitless embarrassment of riches in the midfield position, he would be tempted in farming the youngster out to another club in order to gain more experience.

A loan deal would not be new to him. Crosas spent six months of last season with French side Lyon and helped them to their seventh successive championship.

Crosas played in both matches of Barcelona’s summer trip to Scotland - the 6-0 humbling of Hibs at Murrayfield and the 5-1 destruction of Dundee United at Tannadice.

Crosas said “I would love to join Celtic. I enjoyed my time last season at Lyon a lot and it is now up to Barcelona to agree a deal with Celtic or Sevilla. Both have made proposals which appear acceptable to Barca.

“An agreement now has to be struck with one of them so that I know where I will be playing next season.

“The option of a season at Celtic could be perfect and there might even be an option to extend that stay.

“For me it would be an enrichening experience to play in Scotland.

“As well as the football, I would experience another culture and also improve my English.

“Gaining experience of playing in the Champions League is another attraction and I am thrilled about that possibility.

“Celtic is a very attractive proposition.”

Barcelona and Celtic have built up something of a rapport in recent years with the two clubs meeting in European competition in three of the last five years, while Barca have also visited Scotland as part of their pre-season preparation for the past two years and Crosas’ agent, Ramon Arasa, admits that the Spanish club’s positive experiences in the country could tip the balance in the Hoops’ favour.

Arasa confirmed: “Both Celtic and Sevilla are now having open discussions about Marc.

“Barca’s trip to Scotland has certainly whet the appetite and Celtic are a club with great history.

Meanwhile, Celtic are also thought to be interested in Chelsea midfielder Jack Cork. According to some reports, the Glasgow side are considering a swoop for the 19-year old versatile defender.

Cork is a product of the Chelsea youth academy and has been capped at Youth and Under-19 levels and has spent the last three seasons on loan – twice to Bournemouth and the other to Scunthorpe United. Fulham, West Ham and Sheffield Wednesday have also been linked with the Chelsea player.

Hearts have been handed a record £30,000 fine from the Scottish FA for player indiscipline.  It is the fourth consecutive time that the Edinburgh club have been censured by Scottish Football’s governing body.

They Tynecastle side have been stung with a £30,000 fine plus a further £10,000 penalty should the players’ indiscipline fail to improve before January 2009.  Hearts players were issued with nine red cards and 92 cautions last season.

Last year, Hearts were  fined £20,000 for the same series of offences by their players and have declined to comment on the latest fine.  In all, 18 clubs were fined for the poor behaviour of their players and Hearts’ Edinburgh rivals, Hibernian were on the wrong side of a £10,000 sanction for their 10 red and 76 yellow cards accumulated last season.

A further six clubs receiving official warnings, with Scottish Division One sides Dundee and Albion Rovers among the clubs warned about their future disciplinary records.

The SFA’s disciplinary committee commended a number of clubs for their “satisfactory standard of discipline” last season including Aberdeen, Falkirk, Morton, Brechin City, Raith Rovers and East Fife.

New Hearts manager Csaba Laszlo has vowed to get tough with the squad at Tynecastle and has accused club owner, Lithuanian banker, Vladimir Romanov, of rewarding ‘lazy players’.

The 44-year-old former Uganda boss, who has succeeded Stevie Frail in the Tynecastle hotseat said: “I have come to a club where I have met a lot of nice people,” he said. “Now I would like to change this. I want people who are hungry for success.

“Mr Romanov has made a big mistake and the mistake is he has given these people a very nice life. And a lot of these people - not all - are lazy.

“They are lazy. I have said to Mr Romanov we must change this.”

The Romanov regime has seen several managers come and go, while highly-paid players like Mauricio Pinilla, Mirsad Beslija, Juho Makela and Jose Goncalves have failed to make an impact, and Laszlo has hinted in recent days that he will be looking  to trim down the large squad he inherited of dead wood while also bringing in players of his own.

GORDON STRACHAN has told Danish flop Thomas Gravesen he’ll never play for Celtic again.

The midfielder, who spent last season on loan at Everton, was left behind when the rest of the Parkhead squad travelled to Portugal on their preseason trip.

And if Gravesen was harbouring hopes of resurrecting his career in Glasgow he has been left in no doubt he’ll never wear the Hoops again

Boss Strachan said: “I spoke to Thomas and told him he won’t play for us because of the system we play. We tried our best to get a system which suited Thomas and it hasn’t worked. It was the system to blame, not the player or the club. Thomas finds it difficult to fit into our system and he’ll tell you that himself.

“He’d rather play in a system that suits him and we can’t change our style of play to suit one player.”

Strachan says the 32-year-old, signed from Real Madrid in a blaze of glory, has taken the fact he’s turning into a highly-paid misfit in his stride.

And the bruising to his pride will be soothed by the £40,000 a week Gravesen still gets paid even though he’s of no use to his employers.

Strachan added: “Thomas has been good about it and understands the situation. It’s a football thing and not a personal issue.

“I’m not worried one way or the other about how it pans out because Thomas will still get treated properly for as long as he stays here.”

The position regarding Derek Riordan, who slaughtered Strachan’s man-management in public last season, is more pointed.  It’s highly unlikely that Riordan will ever play for Celtic again either and will be invited to go elsewhere any time he likes. Strachan said: “Derek wants to go away and try somewhere else and we’re not going to stop him. But we can’t just let him walk out the door.”

Celtic value Riordan at around £1 million and rejected a £400,00 bid from Burnley earlier in the close-season.

Motherwell boss Mark McGhee has seen his attempt to lure Celtic’s John Kennedy to the club on a loan deal collapse after the manager failed to secure adequate backing from the club’s board. The Motherwell manager was determined to sign the central defender on a six-month deal and Kennedy had flown out with the Fir Park outfit to Austria for pre-season training in the hope of securing the move.

However, McGhee has seen the move collapse and has blasted the club’s board for their lack of ambition.

“The deal appears to be dead in the water. Our board refused to meet Celtic’s demands and Peter Lawwell refused to budge.

“It’s hugely frustrating because I want to improve and take this team forward and that’s going to be difficult without pulling a few rabbits out of the hat.

“I’m as disappointed as I was excited when I thought John would be joining us a few weeks ago.

“The problem is our board were not prepared to pay what Celtic were asking, so there you go. Plus, Celtic were immovable in their demands.

“The thing is there were other clubs involved who were prepared to pay what Celtic want. I spoke to John on Thursday and, again, he was desperate to come here.”

It is believed that Celtic wanted Motherwell to cover central defender Kennedy’s wage packet in full. Preston North End and Norwich City are now said to be interested in taking the Scotland internationalist on loan.

Meanwhile, Steven Hammell is looking to reach peak fitness for Motherwell’s tough start to the season following his first taste of McGhee’s pre-season training regime – including punishing mountain runs. The defender returned to Fir Park in January after an 18-month spell at Southend to help the Steelmen seal third place in the Clydesdale Bank Premier League.

Hammell’s team-mates had benefited from their training camp in Austria last summer and the left-back admits his debut experience in Obertraun was as intense a training regime as he has experienced.

“We went to Austria for a week but I’m sure it felt more like three months,” the 26-year-old said.

“We were up at seven every day running in the trees and the hills. It was hard work but it was good work as well and hopefully the benefits will show in the next few games because the gaffer demands a high level of fitness. Every pre-season is difficult but the way they structure the runs and the intensity is different. There is no slacking off at any time so it’s intense in that way.

“He gives you targets to reach and you have got to get to them.

“The gaffer sets high standards, he doesn’t just hope for the best – he demands the best.”

McGhee appeared to expect more from Hammell following his return when the Motherwell manager said he was looking forward to getting the full-back as fit as the rest of the squad.

Hammell did not feel worse off but he hopes his hard work will pay off as Motherwell begin their season at Hearts followed by games against the rest of the SPL’s top six. “When he said that I didn’t feel less fit than the rest of the boys,” the Scotland cap explained.

“Because I hadn’t done a pre-season at Motherwell he wasn’t sure what I was doing before, but personally I felt fit enough. I have played every game since pre-season so I can’t have done any more. I’m feeling fit now and hopefully in another couple of games we’ll be ready to fly out the blocks because it’s a tough start.”

Dundee United manager Craig Levein says the club could not stand in the way of striker Noel Hunt, who has headed south to join Reading.

The Irish forward, who had been linked with a move to SPL champions Celtic, has joined the English side in a deal reported to be worth around £600,000.  Levein had alreadty brought in Warren Feeney and Francesco Sandaza for next season, in anticipation of losing the striker.

Levein told The Scotsman: “This transfer represents an excellent deal for Dundee United and helps bring further financial stability to the club.

“Following an initial inquiry last season, we were aware that Reading might make a formal offer before the close of this transfer window and made plans accordingly.

“We knew that a formal offer would require serious consideration and we knew we had to plan to replace Noel before it became too late to do so.

“The move is also an excellent opportunity for Noel and we couldn’t stand in his way.”

Noel’s brother, Stephen, is already on the books at Reading.

It is being reported that Celtic’s bid to sign Auxerre defender has failed, after talks between club and player seemingly collapsed under the pressure of too many agents demanding too much wages for the Romanian.

Celtic have been in negotiations with the player since last Friday to try and reach an agreement for the Romanian star, but Parkhead chief executive Peter Lawwell is believed to have finally decided that enough is enough and has pulled out of the protracted deal.

It was thought that Tamas was set to at least double his wages if he had accepted the first deal on the table, rumoured to be £14k per week, but it is believed Peter Lawwell reckons that the player’s agents were being too greedy and had been advising the player to continue negotiations.

It is now widely expected that Celtic will switch their attention over to Serbian defender, Marko Basa, who currently plays for Le Mans.  Celtic have already agreed a fee for the player but will now have to begin wage negotiations all over again.

Celtic have been dealt a blow in the preparation for their SPL title defence with the news that influential Japanese midfielder, Shunsuke Nakamura, is likely to miss the kick-off for the new season.

Nakamura has picked up a groin injury while with the Celtic squad in the Algarve, as the team competes in the Algarve Cup tournament. While the player is being monitored by Celtic’s medical staff, it is feared that the player could require surgery if the injury doesn’t respond to treatment.

Nakamura has been restricted to only doing light jogging training and could be as much as two weeks behind his team-mates when the season kicks off, which may rule him out of the first Old Firm clash against Rangers on August 31st at Celtic Park.

While on international duty in June with Japan as part of their World Cup qualifying campaign, Nakamura suffered a recurrence of an old ankle injury and this latest injury blow is another problem which Gordon Strachan could do without as the Hoops prepare to begin their SPL defence against St. Mirren on August 10th. Strachan has also seen injuries strike down young English striker, Ben Hutchinson, Nakamura’s fellow countryman, midfielder Koki Mizuno and recent signing Pat McCourt while New Zealand striker Chris Killen is away on Olympic duty with the New Zealand squad.

Meanwhile, a lacklustre Celtic played their first match of the Algarve Cup tournament against English Premiership side Middlesboro. In a match to forget, the two teams fought out a 1-1 draw with Dutchman Jan Vennegoor of Hesselhink grabbing an equaliser for the Hoops in injury-time. The standard league format for the tournament was amended to also offer teams an extra point for every goal scored, but Middlesboro set out their stall in a 4-5-1 formation and stifled the Celtic attack for much of the game, while offering little upfront themselves. Celtic’s next match in the tournament is against English Championship side, Cardiff City, on Thursday.

Celtic are rapidly losing patience with Romanian defender Gabriel Tamas. Tamas has been widely expected to sign for the Glasgow champions but with the deal being drawn out ever further and with no end in sight, Celtic’s Chief Executive Peter Lawell is understood to be ready to pull the plug on the deal and switch his intentions to Le Man’s Serbian defender, Marko Basa. The Serbian international is available for around £4.5 million after his club slashed their asking fee to try to tempt Celtic to make an approach for the player. Basa has already seen a move to rival French club Paris St. Germain collapse while Ukranian side Dinamo Kiev have also shown an interest, although it is believed the player does not want to return to the Eastern Bloc.

Some good news for Celtic came when young full-back Paul Caddis, who broke into the first-team towards the end of season 07/08 signed a new two-year contract with the club. Winger Aiden McGeady also signed a five-year contract recently.

Reports in the Romanian media suggest that Celtic WILL sign Gabriel Tamas, with the player expected to be paraded on Thursday.

According to the report, Celtic and Tamas’ French club, Auxerre, have agreed a £3.5 million deal which will see Tamas move to Glasgow on a 4-year, £20k per week contract.

German legend, Lothar Matthaus has launched an astonishing attack on new Hearts manager, Hungarian Czaba Laszlo by claiming he isn’t up to the job.

Laszlo was Matthaus’ assistant manager for two seasons when the German was manager of the Hungarian national side, but Matthaus believes that Hearts owner, Vladimir Romanov has made an error in his appointment of Laszlo as the Edinburgh team’s new manager.

Matthaus, who threw his hat in the ring for the job after the sacking of Hearts legend, John Robertson, said:

“I can’t believe this has happened.”

“Laszlo is an assistant manager and would be good for that role but not as a manager. I don’t think he has the personality to be a No.1, but I also think he doesn’t have the experience.”

“There are many things he doesn’t have for this kind of job. Time will tell if Hearts have made the wrong choice. I am very surprised.”

Laszlo has had an inauspicious start to his managerial career, having failed to win an away match in two years as coach of the Ugandan national team, and has failed to win either of his matches played so far, with losses against Irish side Glentoran and Scottish First Division side, Dunfermline.

Not everyone is unhappy about Laszlo’s appointment, however, which has been endorsed by club skipper, Christophe Berra. The 22-year-old has been linked with moves to both Wolves and Rangers over the summer but believes that, under Laszlo, he can fulfil his potential at Tynecastle.

Berra has been impressed by the new manager’s approach, as have his team-mates. And he is just glad that club owner Vladimir Romanov’s seven-month search for a new boss has finally come to an end. He added: “Everyone has critics as has Mr Romanov and he has taken a lot of stick.

“But he is a strong man and I think he knows what is right for the club. This is the first proper manager we have had since George Burley and everyone has been impressed with him.

“I am looking forward to the new season because he is the kind of manager who is going to want to work on the training field with the players as a team and individually.

“He’s not had much time but a lot of the boys have been very impressed, he has set out his targets and wants to work on team shape and organisation, playing good football and discipline.”

Laszlo has just signed Ugandan defender David Obua on a free transfer, subject to a medical and the player securing a work permit. Obua had previously interested West Ham after leaving South African side, Kaiser Chiefs earlier in the summer. The new manager also hopes to run the role over a couple of trialists during the course of the team’s tour of Germany.

“I hope we can have some more players here for trials,” the manager said. “I hope it is possible for two or three players to arrive.

“Really I have a very clear mind but before I do anything I would like to talk to the club owner.”

Rumours are circulating in the French press that Celtic boss Gordon Strachan is tracking Argentine striker Fernando Cavenaghi.  The 24-year old striker, who currently plays for French side Bordeaux will likely command a transfer of around £6 million.

Cavenaghi holds an Italian passport, so there would be no issues surrounding a work-permit for the player who has had spells at Spartak Moscow and River Plate.  His Bordeaux career got off to a slow start before he went on a run of scoring ten goals in nine games and finished the season with twenty-four goals.

However, the move appears doomed to fail after Bordeaux reportedly refused the player permission to speak to the Scottish champions.