Rangers midfielder ‘set’ for shock Ipswich move as ex-Celtic man reveals attempts to sign Premiership stars

Here is a round up of the latest news from around Scottish football outside of Edinburgh.

Ipswich Town are closing in on a shock deal to sign Rangers midfielder John Lundstram, according to reports in Turkey.

The 30-year-old is out of contract in the summer and while talks with the Ibrox club are thought to be ongoing, the two parties are yet to reach an agreement.

Lundstram has been a key player for Rangers since his arrival in 2021 and was a standout performer in the team’s tremendous run to the 2022 Europa League final.

His departure would be a huge blow to Hearts’ Scottish Cup semi-final opponents as Lundstra has been a stalwart under three different managers. He is thought to be a highly valued player by manager Philippe Clement ,who is determined to keep the player on board.

He had been heavily linked with a move to Trabzonspor, but the Turkish club have reportedly stalled on their offer, with reports there suggesting that Lundstram was seeking a salary of €2million to play in the Super Lig next term.

Something which Gunebakis claims is out of the Turkish club’s price range, but an amount that Kieran McKenna’s Ipswich would be willing to pay if the club were to secure back-to-back promotions to the Premier League.

Former Celtic scout Lee Congerton reveals the two big-name Premier League players he tried to lure to Parkhead

Former Celtic man Lee Congerton has enjoyed being in the shadows during a varied but distinguished career in the world of recruitment and sporting directors.

Congerton, who now works in Saudi Arabia with Al-Ahli has played a pivotal role in some of the biggest transfers in Europe and claims he was close to signing two French internationals, who are now Premier League superstars during his time in Glasgow.

In an interview with the Telegraph, he reflected on his time working with Brendan Rodgers during his first stint at the club. He is credited with the signings of Moussa Dembele, now of Al-Ettifaq and Odsonne Edouard.

Congerton also targeted a host of now big names during his time behind the scenes. He said: “At Celtic we had no money.

 “Peter Lawwell is a nice man, he’s an accountant. Brendan spoke to me and said we needed pace and power, speed. 

“We all know PSG has an amazing youth programme with players at the time who were never going to play for PSG. Two of the other players we tried to sign during my time were [Moussa] Diaby, who is now at Aston Villa, and [Christopher] Nkunku who is now at Chelsea.

“But there were several players I didn’t want to be anywhere near them and that is why I left. Peter knows that and so did Brendan. Atalanta is very different.”

Congerton has worked at Leicester City and Atlanta during a hugely successful career and admits that he is not surprised by the manner in which the Italian side toppled Liverpool in the Europa League.

He added: “The reality is they destroyed me in Italy during that time.

 “This foreign guy in Italian football has bought a player from Austria (Rasmus Hojlund), born 2003, who had been a failure in Copenhagen. 

“If you take away the World Cup, 10 months later, we sold him for €85 million. That is Atalanta. It’s simple. They know what they are. They rely on the academy and the scouting.

“[Gian Piero] Gasperini is not involved in any of the players. You ask him for an opinion and all he says is sell whoever you want but make sure the ones you bring in are better than the ones you sold. It’s simple.

“I’ve worked with great owners and one or two not so good that you can probably guess. Antonio Percassi, the owner, he was a professional player so understands football which is quite unique at that level of ownership. Then you have Stephen Pagliuca and his American guys who have come in and are very respectful of the local identity.

“They are business people, but they are sports people. They want to win. I asked what we want to be? They were very clear: top six, we want to be in Europe every year and want to make a profit.”