FOOTBALL GOSSIP
German big guns Bayer Leverkusen are lining up a shock bid for Celtic defender Efe Ambrose. The Bundesliga side are preparing an offer of £1.5million for the Nigerian. (Daily Record)
Ambrose is unlikely to figure in Brendan Rodgers’ long-term plans, but Celtic have a defensive crisis – Dedryck Boyata and Jozo Simunovic are injured while Charlie Mulgrew has yet to agree a new deal – ahead of the Champions League qualifiers and may not sell. (Scottish Sun)
Rodgers welcomed skipper Scott Brown back into the fold following injury, and described the midfielder as “a manager’s dream”. (Daily Star)
Mark Warburton has revealed his top-team stars are fretting for their places, but he would not have it any other way. The Rangers manager has added eight new players, defender Oguchi Onyewu is on trial and he hopes to land a striker this week. (Daily Record)
Warburton says he is amazed that Lee Hodson, 24, has not played at a higher level after snapping up the Northern Ireland full-back. (Daily Star)
Wes Foderingham believes he deserves to be Rangers’ first-choice goalkeeper, despite the arrival of former Scotland goalie Matt Gilks. (Daily Express)
Hearts defender Jordan McGhee, 19, looks set to join Premier League newcomers Middlesbrough on a season-long loan. (Daily Record)
Hibernian goalkeeper Mark Oxley is set to quit the club to join up with former Hull boss Phil Brown at Southend. (Daily Record)
Newcastle’s Scottish coach Ian Cathro says it was a painful experience to see the club relegated from the Premier League last season, but insists Rafa Benitez is the man to restore them to the top flight, and he can learn a lot from the Spaniard as he aims to make the move into management in the future. (Scottish Sun)
OTHER GOSSIP
Nick Kyrgios insists he has the game to kill Andy Murray’s Wimbledon dream and go on to win the title. The pair will battle it out on Centre Court today for a place in the quarter-finals. (Daily Record)
Kyrgios feels it is not just Murray and Roger Federer who will feel they have a shot at Wimbledon glory now that Novak Djokovic has been knocked out. (Scottish Sun)
Murray says Kyrgios is the best of the next generation of tennis stars and believes he is capable of winning a Grand Slam tournament. (The Scotsman)
Jamie Murray says Wimbledon “is the tournament I want to win most this year” after he and partner Bruno Soares moved into the third round of the men’s doubles. (The National)
