Rangers signing agreed barring final hurdle, why Celtic wont spend £20m, Ryan Porteous to Serie A - rumour mill

Rangers are waiting to clear one final hurdle before completing the signing of midfielder Mohamed Diomande from FC Nordsjaelland. According to Sky Sports, the deal has been 'fully agreed' with the Diomande just waiting on a work permit being granted before flying to Glasgow to complete the transfer. It is understood that Rangers will pay a £4.3m fee for the Ivory Coast Under-23 international who has made more than 100 appearances for the Norwegian club, including in Europe. Diomande will become Rangers' second new arrival of the January window with Fabio Silva already joining on loan from Wolves.

Why Celtic wont spend £20m

Celtic manager Brendan Rodgers has braced the club's support for the possibility of no new faces arriving in the final week of the transfer window. The Northern Irishman remains hopeful that targets can be secured prior the February 1 deadline but accepted that must also prepare for the worst case scenario of no further fresh faces in addition to winger Nicolas Kuhn – the recent £3m signing for Rapid Vienna. Rodgers also explained why Celtic not spend £20m on a single transfer in pursuit of quality signings. “The money’s there but that won’t happen,” he added. “If you’re bringing in a £20m player then you’re taking a £20m player’s wages. That doesn’t work here sadly. We’re not in that ballpark. I think that’s realistic [£6-7m]. Look before when they signed [Cameron] Carter-Vickers or Jota. The evidence is there that they do that. But £20m is..."

Ryan Porteous to Serie A

Scotland defender Ryan Porteous has been linked with a move to Udinese. According to Sky Sports, the Serie A side are considering signing the 24-year-old centre-back from sister club Watford. Porteous joined the Hornets from Hibs last year for a fee reported to be in the region of £450,000. Hibs would be due 20 per cent of any transfer due to the sell-on clause inserted into his contract.