Scottish Gossip: Celtic, Rangers, West Ham, Villarreal, Hamburg, Hibs, Motherwell, Partick Thistle

FOOTBALL GOSSIP

Villarreal have made Moussa Dembele their priority summer signing after pocketing more than £35m by selling Cedric Bakambu to Chinese club Beijing Guoan in January and will offer Celtic £15m for the French striker. (Daily Express)

Hibernian head coach Neil Lennon is poised to offer Kenny Miller, who almost certainly will not play for Rangers again after being suspended following an argument with manager Graeme Murty, the chance to sign for the Edinburgh club for a second time. (Daily Mail)

Motherwell and Hibernian are both hopeful of sounding out Kenny Miller about joining them next season after the 38-year-old striker, who is out of contract this summer, was suspended by Rangers and will not play for the club again after a dispute with manager Graeme Murty. (Scottish Sun)

There is mounting unrest in Rangers’ squad as team-mates rally to clear names of striker Kenny Miller and captain Lee Wallace, who have been suspended by the club after a heated exchange with manager Graeme Murty. (Daily Record)

Rangers are one of the clubs quoted by bookmakers as a possible destination for Usain Bolt as the world champion sprinter looks to swap athletics for football. (Scottish Sun)

On-loan Rangers midfielder Carlos Pena could be sent back to Glasgow six months early by former Ibrox manager Pedro Caixinha after being caught buying beer after training with Mexican club Cruz Azul. (Daily Express, print edition)

Hamburg recruitment chief Johannes Spors has revealed that Rangers defender David Bates agreed to sign for the Bundesliga club this summer despite bigger cash offers from English outfits after the Ibrox outfit offered the 21-year-old only a £250-per-week rise to stay put because they are chasing two central defenders. (Daily Mail)

Raith Rovers, where David Bates started his career, say they will be due compensation should the 21-year-old central defender complete his move from Rangers to Hamburg this summer. (Fife Today)

Rangers have agreed a new £10m kit deal with Hummel, with the Danish firm starting their three-year run next season and Puma ending its five-year agreement with the Ibrox club. (Scottish Sun)

Celtic pocketed more TV money – £27.6m – than Manchester United in this season’s Champions League despite being knocked out in the group stage. (Daily Record)

Scotland left-back Kieran Tierney, who is being scouted by a number of top clubs, including Manchester United, says he signed a new six-year contract with Celtic because he is determined to stay long-term with the Scottish champions. (Daily Record)

Hull City will offer a new contract to 36-year-old Scotland goalkeeper Allan McGregor, whose present deal runs out this summer and who has been linked with Hearts. (Daily Mirror, print edition)

Midfielder Prince Buaben will leave Hearts next month when his contract expires as he is surplus to requirements after four years at Tynecastle, manager Craig Levein has confirmed. (The Scotsman)

Hearts striker Kyle Lafferty has credited assistant manager Austin MacPhee with helping him through his battle with a gambling addiction. (Daily Record)

Former Wimbledon striker John Fashanu has admitted that he paid his older brother, Justin, who had a spell at Hearts, £75,000 not to reveal he was gay. (The Scotsman)

West Ham United have abandoned plans to appoint a director of football with the club willing to back David Moyes’ judgment in the transfer market as they prepare to appoint the Scot as manager on a permanent contract. (The Times)

The Scottish FA will meet at Hampden Park today to choose a new chief executive, with Partick Thistle’s Ian Maxwell the front-runner to replace Stewart Regan, who quit in February. (Scottish Sun)

Partick Thistle’s Chris Erskine has criticised the club for including him in the player of the season shortlist, with the 31-year-old midfielder calling for the award to be “scrapped” due to the poor season the club are having. (The Scotsman)

Aberdeen have signed an agreement with council planning officers that allows work to start on the Scottish Premiership club’s new £50m stadium, but the No Kingsford Stadium objectors group is now poised to launch court action that could hold up the project for months. (Press and Journal)

OTHER GOSSIP

English Championship club Ealing Trailfinders have confirmed the signing of 25-year-old prop Elliot Millar Mills from Edinburgh ahead of the 2018/19 season.(Edinburgh Evening News)

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