Andreas Skov Olsen signs for Rangers
Rangers have officially announced the signing of Andreas Skov Olsen on a six month loan deal from VfL Wolfsburg. They also have an option to buy the player for a reported amount of almost £9m. Rangers were first linked to the Danish international back in the summer of 2020, before their unbeaten league season, with manager Steven Gerrard being a keen admirer of the Dane. The club once again expressed interest in Skov Olsen two years later under Giovanni Van Bronckhorst, but the winger instead opted for a move elsewhere as he joined Club Brugge. Following a successful three years in Belgium, in which he scored almost 50 goals, Olsen signed for Wolfsburg last January, however injuries prevented the 26-year-old from making his mark in the Bundesliga. With the player showing a keen interest in making the switch to Glasgow, the arrival of Skov Olsen is seen as a statement signing for the Ibrox club, as Danny Röhl looks to add reinforcements to his squad following the acquisitions of midfielder Tochi Chukwuani from Sturm Graz for £4million and left back Tuur Rommens in a £3million deal from Westerlo. Röhl said regarding the signing: “We are really excited to bring Andreas to the club. He is a player who has proven himself at the top level and brings experience of performing under pressure both domestically and on the European stage. He will provide real quality in the final third of the pitch and arrives hungry for this challenge and excited by the opportunity ahead of him.” Rangers will be hoping to build momentum in 2026 as they focus their efforts on chasing down the league title in what is expected to be a tense battle with rivals Celtic and league leaders Hearts.
Scottish Teams Find Out Their Fate In European Draws
Rangers, Celtic and Aberdeen today all found out their opponents for the league phases of the Europa League and the Europa Conference League. Rangers and Celtic were in pots 1 and 2 of the Europa League draw respectively, whilst Aberdeen found themselves in pot 4 of the Conference League draw following their drop down to the competition last night. The pot 1 part of the draw arguably could not have provided Rangers and Celtic with tougher opponents, with both sides hosting Italian giants AS Roma who are the highest ranked side in the competition as per coefficient. Rangers also have to travel to Portugal to take on 2011 winners FC Porto, the second highest ranked side, whilst Celtic travel to De Kuip to take on Eredivisie giants Feyenoord, who they defeated under Arne Slot in 2023 to end a ten-year Champions League hoodoo. In pot 2, both sides have also been pitted against the 2011 runner ups, Portuguese outfit SC Braga, another side that will be flying in to Glasgow on two separate occasions. Celtic’s away tie from this pot sees them travel to Serbia as they were drawn away to the intimidating atmosphere of the Rajko Mitic Stadium, home of Crvena Zvezda, and Rangers also make the journey to Eastern Europe, as they will play Ferencvaros of Hungary’s capital, Budapest. Pot 3 again sees one side fare up against both of the Glasgow giants in Sturm Graz, however unlike AS Roma and SC Braga, they will only need to make their way to the East End of Glasgow rather than the Southside as well, as they have been drawn away to Celtic and at home to Rangers. Rangers’ home tie of this pot sees them host Ludogerets of Bulgaria, who have won their own top flight 14 times on the trot, whilst Danish side FC Midtjylland host another green and white Scottish club, after they knocked Hibernian out late in extra time in the qualifiers to help themselves reach this stage of the competition. In pot 4, Rangers host Belgian side Genk and travel north to face Brann of Norway, who last faced Scottish opposition last season in the form of St. Mirren in Conference League qualifying. Celtic’s draw was concluded with a visit from Dutch side FC Utrecht, where infamous former Hoops goalkeeper Vasilias Barkas currently plies his trade, and they will also make the journey to Northern Italy to take on FC Bologna, captained by Scotland international Lewis Ferguson. As for Ferguson’s former side, Aberdeen, their 6 Conference League opponents were discovered following the Europa League draw. The Dons host Ukrainian side, and European regulars Shakhtar Donetsk from pot 1, and will also see visits from Ligue 1 opposition Strasbourg and Armenian side Noah, who travelled to the UK last season to play Chelsea at Stamford Bridge in the last term’s Conference League, losing 8-0 to the eventual competition winners. There are some enjoyable away days on the cards for the Red Army, as they make the trip to the capital of Czechia to play Sparta Prague. They can also look forward to the slightly warmer climates of Greece’s capital Athens when their side play AEK, and another trip slightly more East to Cyprus, as they face AEK Larnaca, who dumped out a Legia Warsaw side that narrowly beat Hibs last night to deny Scotland having four Scottish sides in European group phase competition.
Rangers fans ‘can be excited’ after Max Aarons joins on loan
Rangers have completed the signing of Max Aarons from Bournemouth on loan until the end of the season. The full-back becomes Russell Martin’s first signing since taking charge of the Ibrox club. Aarons, 25, won the English Championship with Norwich City on two occasions and helped the England U21’s win the European Championship in 2023 and will be looking to make an impact at the Light Blues. Speaking to the official Rangers club website, the right-back said he can bring a ‘new energy’ to the team, he said: “I am delighted to be here, as you can see it’s a huge club and you realise that when you walk through the doors, I can’t wait to get going. “I’ve got a lot of experience now in different leagues and I have played a lot of games. I think I can bring that experience, I can bring a new energy, and I think Rangers fans can be excited – I am really looking forward to it.” New boss Martin also told the official Rangers club website that he watched Aarons’ development whilst he was coming through the youth ranks at the Canaries and believes he will be a success at the Govan club: “Max is a player who I have always kept a keen eye on since he was emerging through the youth ranks while I was coming to the end of my time at Norwich as a player. He is a wonderfully talented player who is hungry to develop, improve and help deliver success for his side. “We are pleased to bring him on board for this season, and I believe he will be a fantastic addition to the squad.”
SPFL Matchday 1: Five Talking Points
Rangers gave Philippe Clement his marching orders, Hibernian defeated a lethargic Celtic, there was no new manager bounce for Motherwell, and the cool-as-ice Kabangu kept Hearts ticking. Meanwhile, Ross County continued their push for the top six, and Aberdeen stave off capitulation with back-to-back wins. Here’s our round-up of the big talking points from Matchday 27 in the 2024/25 SPFL season. Clement sacked – Who’s next? Rangers 2-0 home defeat to St Mirren was the straw that broke the camel’s back. A dismal showing at Ibrox sealed Philippe Clement’s fate in a week filled with speculation about a potential US-led takeover by San Francisco 49ers’ investors. His dismissal came just hours after our report last night, which anticipated the club’s official announcement. After the match, Clement apologised to the fans, telling BBC Sport: “I can only say sorry and apologise [to the Rangers fans] from me and the team. This is not what Rangers teams need to show on the pitch. We all know this was by far below the standards we all expect.” However, for Rangers supporters, it was too little, too late. Some even set up a JustGiving page to fund his rumoured £1.2 million compensation fee. During his 16-month tenure, Clement showed rare glimpses of promise, particularly in Europe, where Rangers secured automatic qualification for the Europa League round of 16. Yet, he struggled to translate those performances into domestic success, leaving the club 13 points adrift of league leaders Celtic. Attention now turns to his long-term successor, with former Everton boss Sean Dyche, ex-Rangers title-winning manager Steven Gerrard, club legend Barry Ferguson, and former Light Blues midfielder Gennaro Gattuso all linked. Ferguson has been announced by the club to manage until the end of the season. VAR controversy mars heroic Hibs performance The heat on VAR grows with Brendan Rodgers’ latest comments following Celtic’s 2-1 defeat to Hibernian. An equaliser for Celtic was ruled out in the second half after the VAR overruled the on-field officials. Their decision was that Alistair Johnston crossed the ball after it was out of play, with the linesman originally calling it in. Regarding the controversy, Rodgers told BBC Sport: “I was very disappointed we didn’t get that, especially when the linesman didn’t think it was out. He probably has the best view. “I don’t know how you can tell the ball is definitely out from an image from the 18-yard line. We need to see evidence the ball was out. If you don’t have that, you’re having a guess.” However, the debate surrounding the decision has unfairly overshadowed Hibernian’s outstanding and fully deserved performance. They fought with grit and determination to withstand Celtic’s attacks while capitalising on a fatigued Hoops defence in transition. A defining moment came when Rocky Bushiri heroically cleared the ball off the goal line following a surging run from Jota, sparking a deafening roar from the home crowd. By the final whistle, as Sunshine on Leith echoed around Easter Road, there could be no denying that Hibs had earned their moment of celebration. No new manager bounce for the ‘Well One could forgive the neutral fan who gave little thought to this fixture last weekend. However, there has been renewed interest following the appointment of Michael Wimmer as Motherwell’s manager. The German spoke about bringing “intensity, energy, and passion” to proceedings. Still, there was little evidence of this in the first half of a 1-0 defeat to Dundee United. Both sides came into the game in poor form, but the Tangerines struck first and stopped the Lanarkshire side from having a new manager bounce. The visitors did react positively in the second half but lacked the clinical edge to get back into the match. On the second-half performance, Wimmer told BBC Sport: “We can work with the second half. It was really good. It was aggressive, we had opportunities, and we played forward. That’s what we want to see.” The Steelmen are now on their joint longest losing streak in ten years and worryingly looking over their shoulders at the teams behind them in the table. Kabangu injection saves Hearts Nine years ago, the Perth club witnessed a bejewelled Elton John in a stellar concert at McDiarmid Park, singing hits such as Crocodile Rock and Goodbye Yellow Brick Road. This weekend, they saw another Elton dazzle before their eyes. Elton Kabangu, the January recruit from Hearts. The Belgian scored twice in a 2-1 away victory to see Hearts look towards the top six and European places. Putting aside last week’s disappointing home result to Rangers, where he failed to take his chances, he was a thorn in the Saints’ side throughout and put away two clinical finishes to take his toll up to six goals from seven games. Hearts boss Neil Crichtley told BBC Sport about his performance: “I’m delighted for Elton Kabangu to get two goals after his disappointment last week. He’s such a great personality to have at the training ground every day. I thought he was fantastic again.” The Saints are running out of games to turn things around, languishing six points adrift at the bottom of the table. Their manager, Simo Valakari, joined the club in October to do just that. With each passing game, that is looking increasingly less likely, and preparations for the Championship may lie ahead. Battle for top six Ross County is on an excellent run of form, with five wins from their last 9. Their only two defeats from that run came against the two Glasgow giants. They came from behind this weekend to beat Dundee 3-1. On the performance, Cowie told BBC Sport: “I was most pleased with how we responded to going behind, we were not spooked by it and deservedly got back in the game at 1-1. “We came out the traps flying after half-time and scored two goals. A fantastic win, and it keeps the momentum going.” The man from Inverness has given the Dingwall fans hope, as the club is only two points off the
