Football news: Rangers friendly win, Rodgers has say on Celtic kid, 'mystery' striker to sign for SPFL club, Torino chase Scot

Rangers win friendly in Germany

Michael Beale’s men completed their pre-season camp in Germany with a 2-0 win over Hallescher FC. Abdallah Sima opened the scoring on the half-hour mark with a header before James Tavernier netted a penalty shortly after. Six of Rangers’ new signings – goalkeeper Jack Butland, defender Leon Balogun, midfielder Kieran Dowell, forwards Sima, Sam Lammers and Cyriel Dessers – all played a part in the match. The Ibrox outfit are back in action on Tuesday, when they take on Newcastle in Glasgow for Allan McGregor’s testimonial.

Colak lands in Italy to seal deal

Antonio Colak has arrived in Italy to seal his move to Parma, according to Sky Sports. The 29-year-old is expected to seal a move to the Serie B club in a deal that could be worth up to £2.5million to Rangers. The Croat joined Rangers last summer and scored 18 goals, but is not part of Beale’s new-look forward line. A sale would allow Rangers to strengthen their case in signing Feyenoord forward Danilo, while they continue to negotiate with LAFC for midfielder Jose Cifuentes.

Armstrong linked with move away from Saints

Former Celtic and current Scotland midfielder Stuart Armstrong has been linked with a move to Serie A in Italy. The 31-year-old suffered relegation from the English Premier League with Southampton last season and it is being reported that Torino are weighing up a move for the playmaker, who has been with the south-coast club for five years. There is also speculation surrounding the future of Armstrong’s Scottish team-mate Che Adams, who is interesting a number of unnamed English clubs.

Rodgers has say on Vata

Celtic manager Brendan Rodgers says he has been impressed by teenage midfielder Rocco Vata – but says the Irish youngster will need to work on aspects of his game if he is to make the “next jump”. The 18-year-old made appearances for the club from the bench last season and Rodgers said: "I remember Rocco as a young player from my last time at Celtic. I used to go down to Barrowfield to watch him play. You could see he had talent and he has now developed. Physically, he is really good. There are aspects of his game that he will need to work on if he is going to make the next jump. But his attitude is good, he's strong, quick and wants to score goals. There is a lot of development that he needs and if he's willing to do that, then he could hopefully do very well.”

McGovern was ‘desperate’ for Hearts move as he joins familiar faces

Michael McGovern was “desperate” to join Hearts and team up with some familiar faces following his move from Norwich. The 39-year-old former Ross County, Falkirk and Hamilton goalkeeper left the Canaries at the end of last season after seven years at Carrow Road. McGovern, who has 32 caps for Northern Ireland and who played at the Euro 2016 finals, knows the Jambos management team of head coach Frankie McAvoy, technical director Steven Naismith and sporting director Joe Savage, as well as new club-mate, Northern Ireland striker Liam Boyce and former Gorgie and fellow compatriot defender Aaron Hughes. McGovern signed a one-year deal with the option of a further year and is the Tynecastle club’s first summer signing. He told HeartsTV: “I’m delighted. Hearts are a massive club, I’m excited to be here and looking forward to getting started. It’s pleasing to be back because I loved my time in Scottish football. I played with Naisy at Norwich and worked with both Frankie and Joe at Hamilton and Norwich. There are a lot of familiar faces and once the opportunity to come here came about, I was desperate to be a part of it. I want to be involved at a big club in Scotland. Hearts are among the biggest and it’s not something I could turn down."

Bulgarian goalkeeper Mitov joins St Johnstone on two-year deal

Dimitar Mitov became St Johnstone’s first signing of the summer by joining the Perth club on a two-year contract. The 26-year-old Bulgarian goalkeeper spent six years at League One side Cambridge before making the move north of the border where he will compete with Ross Sinclair for the number one spot. Mitov told SaintsTV how big a part St Johnstone boss Steven MacLean played in the move. He said: “I’m delighted to get the deal over the line and I can’t wait to get started. I had a few different opportunities to go to different clubs but the option of coming here for a completely different challenge is one I couldn’t turn down. Conversations with the manager were brilliant, he explained his vision for what he wants and it made the decision even easier. I want to achieve as much as I can here personally but also help the team as much as possible. It’s a great club and I can’t wait to get going.”

It was an easy decision – Findlay happy to make Kilmarnock return

Stuart Findlay claims a return to Kilmarnock was always on the cards after he rejoined the Rugby Park club on a season-long loan from Oxford. The 27-year-old defender had two previous loan spells with Killie in 2015-16 and 2017-18 before arriving on a permanent deal the following season. Findlay scored on his Scotland debut against San Marino at Hampden Park in October 2019, prior to a move to Philadelphia Union in MLS before returning to the UK to sign for Sky Bet League One side Oxford last summer. Findlay, who will go into the Killie squad for the Viaplay Cup opener against Annan on Saturday if Scottish Football Association approval comes through in time, said: “It feels brilliant. It seems like I have never been away in some sense. “It was not, ‘I want to go back to Scotland’, it was more, ‘I want to go back to Kilmarnock’. As soon as I got contact from the manager (Derek McInnes) it was an easy decision to come back up the road. It is a club that means a lot to me. I have always looked out for it. I think I said on social media that I would come back one day. I didn’t know if it would be 10 years or three or four years it has been but I always wanted to come back. I want to hit the ground running and do as well as I can.”

Robinson ‘excited’ as St Mirren close in on signing mystery striker

Stephen Robinson is “excited” about the mystery forward he expects to bring to St Mirren next week. The Buddies boss has lost the services of Curtis Main and Eamonn Brophy but has signed winger Conor McMenamin, strikers Mikael Mandron and Stav Nachmani, and goalkeeper Zach Hemming for the upcoming season. Ahead of the Viaplay Cup opener at Montrose on Saturday – Arbroath, Cowdenbeath and Forfar are also in St Mirren’s group – Robinson spoke about another recruit to his squad in guarded tones. He said: “Stav Nachmani will come into the country (from Israel) on Saturday and train next week and hopefully be involved in the Arbroath game. We have one more forward player coming in for that we agreed a deal for last night. So plenty of competition. Once it is signed and sealed we will reveal all. I am excited about him. It is someone I have chased for a long time. He’s a big boy, quick, physical and once we get pen to paper then I will reveal a little bit more. I am a wee bit superstitious about things like that in football but I am quietly confident that will get done in the next couple of days. I believe we have made the squad stronger.”