Celtic are close to completing their move for Jonny Hayes after Aberdeen granted them permission to speak to the 29-year-old winger.
Ryan Christie may go in the opposite direction, converting his recent loan spell at Aberdeen into a permanent transfer, although the Hayes deal does not depend on that. If only Hayes moves Celtic would pay around £1.2 million for the Republic of Ireland international.
Aberdeen supporters have already seen Niall McGinn, Ash Taylor and Peter Pawlett leave the club, and captain Ryan Jack join rivals Rangers, with speculation continuing that Sunderland will make an official approach for the manager, Derek McInnes.
Allowing Celtic to speak to Hayes is a bitter blow to their fans but when Aberdeen rejected a £600,000 bid from Cardiff City in January, and gave him a new contract until 2019 on improved terms, there was an understanding that they would not stand in his way if there was renewed interest in him at the end of the season.
Hayes attempted to delete all the messages posted on his Twitter account yesterday only to later suggest that had been an error. Christie had provoked a row when he was loaned from Celtic to Aberdeen in January and an old tweet, criticising the Dons, was discovered and made back page headlines. Hayes will be in Dublin for tomorrow’s friendly between the Republic of Ireland and Uruguay.
Advertisement
Meanwhile Rangers are in talks to sign the former Scotland international Graham Dorrans from Norwich City although, contrary to reports yesterday, they have not submitted a £1 million bid. It may take that sort of figure to take the 30-year-old north but, as a Rangers fan, he is enthusiastic about making the move.
Carlos Pena underwent a medical at Rangers late yesterday afternoon and is due to fly back to Mexico today having agreed a three-year contract which will be announced next week pending the successful receipt of a work permit. Pena, 27, from Chivas Guadalajara, will become the club’s third close season signing after Bruno Alves and Ryan Jack.
Pena has won 19 caps and played in the 2014 World Cup but he has not played international football for almost two years, meaning he must get the backing of a panel convened by the SFA. He joined Chivas from Leon for a reported fee of about £7 million in December 2015 but he was loaned back to his former club a year later.
Reports in Mexico claim Rangers are still negotiating over a deal for Veracruz forward Eduardo Herrera, 28, who played under manager Pedro Caixinha at Santos Laguna. The player has nine caps but all but one was earned in 2015, so Rangers would need to win a work permit appeal to complete his signing.
● Hearts have secured their second signing of the summer by recruiting Tranmere Rovers striker Cole Stockton on a pre-contract. The 23-year-old, who will sign a two-year deal on July 1, scored ten goals on loan with Sky Bet League Two side Morecambe in the first half of last season before returning to the league below with Tranmere, where he hit a further eight goals.