The latest news and gossip from around Scottish football.
James Forrest 'target' for Zenit
Celtic winger James Forrest is attracting attention from European giants Zenit St Petersburg.
The Russian outfit have turned their attention to the Hoops star and could move in with a £12million bid this summer.
Neil Lennon has already told how Forrest is a key player for him and the player himself recently revealed he fancied being dealt in on a new contract to be a one-club man.
But Zenit - who just spent £40m on Malcom - could tempt him with a deal reportedly worth £70,000 per week. (Scottish Sun)
Celtic 'scout' Greg
Kilmarnock defender Greg Taylor is on Celtic's radar and the Champions have even had him scouted, according to reports.
The left-back is being tracked by the Hoops who reportedly asked Tosh McKinlay to run the rule over the Scotland cap.
READ MORE: Jose Mourinho hails 'humble' Kieran Tierney and likens ex-Celt to throwback defender
Boli Bolingoli is the first choice at the moment but it is understood Neil Lennon wants further backup.
And Gourock-born Taylor, 21, fits the bill. (Daily Record)
Neither Defoe nor Morelos guaranteed starters
Steven Gerrard has told his two main men that neither are assured of a spot in the Rangers starting eleven this season.
The Light Blues boss watched both his players score - Defoe a hat-trick and Morelos a brace from the bench - in a 6-1 dismantling of Hibs and insisted they both need to keep it up.
He said: "It was always the plan to have two strikers as we do. That’s what I told Jermaine when I got him here and why he wanted him at the club. For us to have success here, we can’t rely on one striker.
“For sure, you need two that are as good, hungry and dangerous as one another. They will have to understand that it’s horses for courses. Sometimes Jermain will suit an opposition and sometimes it will be Alfredo because he will suit.
“I need to make sure I get those decisions right. For sure, we are going to need both of them fighting if we are to have any ambitions of moving forward.
"There is maybe an argument that we need a third (striker) but we have other options who can play there.” (Evening Times)
Sam Cosgrove major doubt for Aberdeen vs Rijeka
Aberdeen's star striker Sam Cosgrove is 'touch and go' to play in his side's Europa League crunch tie against HNK Rijeka this week.
The Dons must turn around a 2-0 deficit from the first-leg in Croatia.
But they may have to do so without Cosgrove who was flying with a barrel load of goals before he picked up a knock.
Derek McInnes said: "Sam has a tightness in his hamstring. He reported it [on Saturday] and we tried to give him every chance of playing but he just felt it was becoming more of an issue and we decided not to bring him with us and stay back and get treatment in Aberdeen.
“He'll get scanned [on Monday] and I think he is touch and go for Thursday. Clearly, any team would miss someone in Sam's form. I hope he's going to be okay for Thursday, but at this stage, it's not clear yet." (The Herald)
Lewis Morgan: Back off Bolingoli
Celtic's Lewis Morgan has urged fans to calm down with the criticism on teammate Boli Bolingoli after a shaky start to his Hoops career.
The left-back has come under fire from a handful of fans for a slow start but Morgan reckons he's got plenty to offer.
Speaking after Celtic beat Motherwell 5-2 at the weekend, Morgan said: "I think it takes time to forge partnerships, but you saw for James (Forrest)’s goal on Saturday, he has made the underlap and I’ve found him.
“Hopefully that’s something we can see more of, because he’s obviously an attacking full-back.
READ MORE: Liam Grimshaw says Motherwell will stay on the offensive after Celtic defeat
“We want to make sure we are doing our attacking side of the game as well as defensively.
“We were disappointed to lose the two goals at Fir Park, but we’ve bailed ourselves out going the other way.
“He’s definitely got something to offer, we see it every day in training. He’s talented, and he works hard for the team first and foremost.
“I think everyone has to remember he is adapting to a new league as well, but we’ve got full confidence in him.
“I enjoy playing with him, everyone does, as Mikey Johnston has said as well, and I’m sure he will go on and have a great season."
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules here