Your round-up of the latest headlines surrounding Hibs, Hearts, and their Scottish Premiership rivals:
As Hibs and Hearts gear up for the 2024/25 Scottish Premiership season, both teams are back in pre-season training. Hearts finished third last season, securing European football, while Hibs had a disappointing campaign, finishing eighth.
The upcoming season’s fixture list was released last month. Hearts will host Rangers on Saturday, August 3, while Hibs will visit St Mirren later the same day. With the countdown to the new season underway, teams across the Scottish Premiership are actively recruiting. Here’s a roundup of some of the latest stories from the division.
More O’Riley interest
Leicester City is the latest club reportedly interested in Celtic’s Matt O’Riley, as per The Scottish Sun. New Foxes manager Steve Cooper sees O’Riley as an ideal replacement for Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall, who joined Chelsea in a £30 million deal in late June. O’Riley, after an outstanding season with 18 goals and 13 assists in 37 league appearances, has attracted interest from several top-flight European clubs. Celtic is looking for a Scottish record fee of over £25 million for the 23-year-old, with Brighton, Southampton, and Atletico Madrid also considering moves.
Shaughnessy deal
Former Hearts defender Conor Shaughnessy has expressed his delight at signing a contract extension with Portsmouth, where he joined as a free agent last summer. After helping Pompey achieve promotion to the Championship, Shaughnessy has now signed a new three-year deal. He said, “I’m over the moon to sign an extension. There’s no place I’d rather be, and to continue my career here is perfect for me right now. We had a great season, and everyone at the club – the manager, the director, the players – we’re all heading in the right direction.”
Clement transfer priority
Rangers have made acquiring a 30-goal-a-season striker their top priority this summer, according to Football Insider. Manager Philippe Clement is keen to add more firepower to his squad to challenge Celtic for the Premiership title next season. With a major rebuild already underway at Ibrox, including the recent signing of Hamza Igamane as their seventh new arrival, Clement is focused on bringing in more goal-scoring talent before the end of August.