Jamaica eye Sterling
Jamaica is attempting to get Dujon Sterling of the Rangers to play for them in the Gold Cup this summer. The Scottish Sun claims that manager Heimir Hallgrimsson has been impressed by scouting reports on the Ibrox star, who can play a variety of positions, and that the Reggae Boyz are in a group with Mexico, Ecuador, and Venezuela. Although the 24-year-old Sterling has played youth football for England, his ancestry qualifies him for Jamaica.
Celtic set to keep Yang
Yang Hjun-jun, a winger for Celtic, is expected to miss South Korea’s Olympic qualifying match next month. Yang can play for the Under-23s in their attempt to qualify for the Paris Games later in the summer, but manager Brendan Rodgers of Celtic is unlikely to approve of Yang’s departure in April given the team’s title rivalry. Regarding the squad selection process, South Korea’s manager Hwang Sun-hong stated: “I will have a final meeting with the staff, but this is a difficult part.” We must think of another option. I’m also considering a backup strategy.
Boyce could return
Hearts anticipates that Liam Boyce, a Northern Irishman who is accelerating his recovery from a thigh tendon injury, will play at some stage this season. Manager Steven Naismith told the Edinburgh Evening News that although the 32-year-old hasn’t played since early December, “Yeah, I think there’s a chance that he will be back.” He is back on the grass and making good progress. He is still developing, but now that he is running again, I would anticipate seeing him again before the season is out.
Break bank for Lammers
Dutch club Utrecht have revealed that they had to go over their budget to sign Sam Lammers on loan. The forward moved back to his homeland after a difficult start to life as a Rangers player and Utrecht owner Frans van Seumeren said: “I more or less pushed through to get Lammers. At one point, Jordy (Zuidam, technical director) and Ron (Jans, head coach) did a really good job and approached him. And, in the end, it was clear that Lammers wanted to come. A loan fee had to be paid, but it was not in the budget. So then you have to figure it out. At that moment, I put a little pressure on it. (It was) logical, because I saw that we were short of a striker. You don’t want to be relegated. You don’t want to get yourself into that misery, because then they’ll hang me from the (Utrecht) cathedral! So then I thought, let’s get Lammers.”
Boyle back in training
Talismanic Hibs winger Martin Boyle has been back in training this week and is therefore in contention to return to action against Rangers this weekend following his concussion. The Australian was taken to hospital earlier this month after a collision with the Gers’ John Souttar in a Scottish Cup tie and after being diagnosed with the injury, Boyle missed two Hibs matches. However, he has worked at Hibs’ East Mains training base since Tuesday and if he does not suffer any ill-effects, he should be available for the trip to Ibrox on Saturday.
Forward rated at £10m
Peter Grant says his former club Celtic would need to fork out close to £10million if they want to sign in-form Blackburn forward Sammie Szmodics. The Irishman has scored 28 goals for Rovers and has been loosely linked with Brendan Rodgers team. Grant – who played and coached at Celtic Park – knows the player well and said: “He’s not a striker; he scores a hell of a lot of goals, I seen him as a youngster before he got his move to Peterborough, at Colchester, and I was really impressed with him. I like going to games and not knowing who the personnel are. Some people jump out at you, and he jumped out at me, and I thought ‘, this kid can play’, and then not long after that, he went to Peterborough. He’s a goal threat, he scored goals, the Championship is a really difficult league, and if you’re not playing with one of the top sides, it’s even harder, and he’s constantly scored goals. He’s just a good footballer above anything else with an eye for a goal, a very good eye for a goal in big moments.” If he’s still in contract, he’ll cost a pretty penny; anyone who scores goals in the Championship will cost a right few bob anyway. Nearly £10 million.”
