Celtic player linked with Nottingham Forest as goalkeeper could leave

Celtic could lose young starlet in January transfer window

Hibs and Hearts are just two days away from their next fixture in the Scottish Premiership as the Easter Road side welcome St Johnstone and the Jambos head to St Mirren.

Last weekend was Nick Montgomery’s first outing as Hibs manager and while the side secured a 2-2 draw, there will be plenty for the former A-League manager to work on as he seeks his first win. Meanwhile, Hearts were able to bounce back from a string of difficult results as Steven Naismith’s squad beat Aberdeen 2-0.

However, while the Edinburgh based clubs hope to continue expanding on their form, here are the latest transfer stories from Hibs and Hearts’ Scottish Premiership rivals...

Inverness attracting South American candidates

Inverness Caledonian Thistle chief executive Scot Gardiner says the club were inundated with applicants from South America when their head coach post was last available (Press & Journal). This time around, Celtic’s B-team coach Darren O’Dea is reported to be the number one target by the Caley Jags with Hearts’ B-team coach Liam Fox also on the list.

The ICT chief executive said: “There weren’t too many Championship Manager candidates this time – there were a lot more last time to be honest. I don’t mind people doing that, they get deleted within seconds.

“Last time we had almost 100 applicants, and almost 70 were from South America which was astonishing. Something strange happened, and we got applicants from Venezuela, Chile, Colombia, Brazil, Ecuador, everywhere.”

Celtic starlet eyed up by Premier League side

Nottingham Forest are weighing up a move for 18-year-old Celtic winger Rocco Vata, who is in the final year of his contract and has so far dismissed talks over a possible new contract (TeamTalk).

Vata has been told his first-team opportunities will be limited under Brendan Rodgers this season and has thus been restricted to outings with the Celtic B team in the Lowland League, where he has already scored six goals in five matches this season.

Forest are reportedly long-term admirers of Vata and they have been keeping tabs on his contract situation. The Premier League side are keen to build a strong base of youth in their academy set-up and they see Vata as a potential star in the making.

Israel set sights on out-of-favour Dundee star

Out-of-favour Dundee United goalkeeper Mark Birighitti is considering leaving the Championship club as an option in Israel has emerged for the 32-year-old (The Courier and Daily Record).

The Daily Record reports that the Australia international is weighing up an offer from an Israeli Premier League side after falling down the pecking order at Tannadice. The former Central Coast Mariners goalkeeper is contracted to Dundee until next summer now finds himself behind Jack Walton, Jack Newman and Ruaridh Adams.

Should the goalkeeper wish for the swap, it must be completed before the transfer window closes in Israel on Wednesday evening.