Aston Villa remain admirers of Rangers midfielder Nicolas Raskin, with those close to the Belgium international believing the Premier League is his likely destination next year. Rangers turned down a £12m offer from Hull City for Raskin this summer.
At Celtic, manager Martin O’Neill will revert to a back four against Motherwell on Sunday. The back three used in the latest Old Firm derby was merely a one-off attempt to match Rangers’ shape. Former Celtic striker Gary Hooper believes it will only take a goal to kickstart forward Kasper Hogh’s Celtic career.
Sweden team manager Kim Kallstrom has defended the national squad’s workings after Celtic midfielder Benjamin Nygren was one of five players sent home from camp following a sickness bug. Nigeria striker Kelechi Iheanacho insists he moved to a tough league after rejecting a new deal with Celtic to join Bursaspor. Bursaspor are joint top of the Turkish second tier, with Iheanacho having scored 11 goals and provided two assists in just eight matches.
Kilmarnock coach Kirk Broadfoot has been impressed with Bailey Rice, 20, since he joined on loan from Rangers and expects the midfielder to be an asset to the Ibrox club.
Hearts’ 18-year-old summer signings Aron Benjaminsen and Leart Kabashi will begin challenging for competitive game time once the international break ends. Benjaminsen is a former Vikingur Gota forward, while Kabashi previously played for Grasshopper Zurich. Hearts have also been boosted by the news that Malachi Fagan-Walcott and Oisin McEntee will be fit to return against St Mirren this weekend after injury. Their upcoming Conference League opponents Nordsjaelland lost 3-0 in a friendly against Malmo as they prepare to return to league action against Odense on Friday.
Elsewhere, Alex Briedl views manager Stephen Robinson’s unwavering belief as key to Aberdeen’s recent revival. Dundee United manager Jim Goodwin was pleased to see defender Iurie Iovu get game time with Moldova during the international break. Dundee head coach Steven Pressley is casting his eye over a couple of trialists as he considers strengthening his injury-hit squad.
St Johnstone manager Simo Valakari stands by his decision to allow Jack Baird to join Raith Rovers despite Zach Mitchell’s injury, which ended the 21-year-old’s loan from Charlton Athletic and left the Perth side short of defensive cover. The Scottish FA has appointed former Hibernian sporting director and Ayr United managing director Graeme Mathie as its head of football strategy, operations and performance.