Scottish Gossip: Barrie McKay, Hearts, Rudi Skacel, Hibs
Last updated on .From the section Football
FOOTBALL GOSSIP
Rangers winger Barrie McKay, 22, could be heading back to Leipzig before the end of the month after the Germans launched a move to sign him for £6m. McKay impressed during Saturday's friendly between the two sides at the Red Bull Arena. (Daily Record)
However, Rangers manager Mark Warburton insists there is "dialogue going on at various levels" to keep McKay at Ibrox. He says: "We value Barrie very highly. He is a top young talent and I hope very much he has a bright future here at Rangers. Barrie can go as far in this game as he wants. I'm delighted with his progress."
MK Dons have signed Hearts forward Robbie Muirhead on a two-and-half-year deal for an undisclosed fee. He becomes Robbie Neilson's first signing since becoming MK Dons manager in December, having worked with the 20-year-old during his time in charge of the Scottish Premiership club. (Evening Express)
Winger Sam Nicholson should return from a four-month knee injury absence in the next two to three weeks and give Hearts a major boost for the second half of the season. (Edinburgh Evening News)
Ahead of his team's Scottish Cup tie against Albion Rovers at Airdrie's Excelsior Stadium, Celtic manager Brendan Rodgers insists he is approaching the match in "exactly the same" way as a Champions League tie. "Every game is studied to the umpteenth degree. The minute you don't is when you have an issue, you become loose and soft and that's when you suffer," says the Northern Irishman. (Daily Mail)
Celtic are sending their 18-year-old Norwegian midfielder Kris Ajer on loan to Kilmarnock for the rest of the season. He signed a four-year deal with Celtic last February after impressing on trial. Rodgers considers him a player for the future. (Daily Record)
And Rodgers believes Scottish football should welcome the leadership that Peter Lawwell, the club's chief executive, imparts to the game as a whole. Rodgers was responding to comments made by former St Mirren chairman Stewart Gilmour on BBC Radio Scotland's Sportsound that Lawwell was responsible for running Scottish football and that perhaps he did not always act with the greater good of the game in mind. (Herald)
Hibernian chief executive Leeann Dempster says there is no evidence that some of the club's fans racially abused Raith Rovers midfielder Rudi Skacel during a match on Christmas Eve at Easter Road. Dempster says Skacel is free to make a complaint should he choose to do so. (Daily Record)
Hamilton Accies fans group WeAreHamilton plan to boycott their team's league game against Kilmarnock on 4 February in a protest over their current plight. The New Douglas Park club sit 11th in the table after 21 games with just two wins. (National)
Defender Jason Naismith says he had leave boyhood club St Mirren for the good of his career. The Scotland Under-21 cap signed a three-and-a-half year deal with Ross County on Wednesday after the Dingwall and Paisley clubs cut an undisclosed deal. (Sun)
OTHER GOSSIP
Former Dundee United footballer turned boxer David Brophy is trying to focus on Friday's fight against Kiril Psonko of Lithuania in Glasgow and not let his mind drift to his Commonwealth super-middleweight title bout against Australian Zac Dunn in Melbourne in March. (Herald)
Doubles specialist Jamie Murray reveals how an Aussie cabbie made his day when he said he was "better looking" than his brother Andy. (Sun)
