Scotland star is 'secret ingredient' for MLS club, Celtic star speaks on Atalanta draw

Hibs and Hearts are set to square off in a highly anticipated Edinburgh derby on Sunday, October 27 - it is a game that could have major implications for the rest of the 2024/25 season. In the meantime, lets take a look at what is happening in the Scottish Premiership rumour mill.

A former Dundee United ace has been described as the ‘secret weapon’ of an MLS outfit - meanwhile, a Celtic star spoke on their 0-0 draw with Atalanta in the Champions League.

Ryan Gauld is Vancouver Whitecaps’ ‘secret weapon’

Ryan Gauld is having something of a career resurgence in the MLS for the Vancouver Whitecaps. Once hailed as the future of Scottish football, he has not quite lived up to his potential - but his recent performances indicate there is still plenty of time for the 28 year old.

In their last game, the Whitecaps demolished the Portland Timbers by a score of 5-0. Gauld was the star of the show, as the Scotland international netted a hattrick en route to their comprehensive rout. Since he arrived at the club in 2021, he has scored 33 goals in 108 league appearances.

Speaking to the press, Whitecaps boss Vanni Sartini said: “We have a secret ingredient, and it’s called Ryan Gauld. When Ryan leads the team like he did today, it makes it easier for everyone else. What he did today is astonishing.”

Callum McGregor on Celtic’s Champions League revival against Atalanta

Celtic’s defeat against Borussia Dortmund earlier in the season ‘hurt’ the squad, according to Celts captain Callum McGregor - the team were itching to put things right when they took on Atalanta.

While Celtic did not pick up the win, they managed to avoid defeat and picked up a clean sheet along the way. It was a much improved display from Celtic, especially in the defensive third.

Speaking on Celtic’s Champions League campaign so far, McGregor said: “When you represent such a big club like this and you have a result like that [against Dortmund], it hurts and it stays with you and all these things where you feel pride to try to put it right for yourself and your teammates and then the supporters as well.

“We came out the back of that game and we never showed ourselves in a good light but it was important against Atalanta that we showed we don’t want to talk, we want to be a team that does the talking on the pitch. It was hugely important, I think. Probably more for ourselves, to be honest. People say what they want to write and we don’t really have a lot of control over that other than the performances that we put in.

“If you don’t perform well, people are going to criticise you, that’s just the nature of the business. But for us we came off the game against Dortmund and we just never did ourselves justice. The boys were low and they were low because they didn’t perform to the level that we know we can.”