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Celtic ‘step up’ interest, Rangers bid turfed out, Scotland striker move rejected - Scottish transfer news All the latest Scottish transfer news on Saturday morning - including reports from Celtic, Rangers, Hearts, Dundee United and the Scotland national team. The Scottish Premiership transfer window is about to enter it’s final weeks, meaning the complete deals, reports and rumours are being amped up as we close in on the September 3 deadline. In your Saturday morning transfer bulletin, we’ve got the all the latest news from Celtic, Rangers, Dundee United Sign up to The Scotsman’s daily football newsletter to get unrivalled Scottish football news and analysis - subscribe for free here. Dundee United new arrivals reach double figures Dundee United have confirmed the signing of Kevin Ciubotaru from Romanian side FC Hermannstadt on a two-year contract, pending SFA and international clearance. The 22-year-old left-back joins the club for an undisclosed fee and becomes head coach Jim Goodwin’s 11th signing of a hectic summer. The youngster joins the club amid strong speculation that star defender Will Ferry could join Anderlecht this summer for around £2.2million, with Blackburn Rovers also understood to be ready to make a move for the Irishman. “I’m delighted to welcome Kevin to the football club and look forward to getting to work with him,” said Dundee United boss Goodwin. “He’s an exciting young fullback who will add real quality to our defensive options and I’m thrilled he’s chosen to join us. He had a real breakthrough season last campaign and played close to 40 games in the Romanian top flight whilst also earning his first senior cap, so we feel he’s joining the group with valuable experience in senior football and a real desire to improve and learn every day, which is an important attribute.” Beginning his youth career in Italy, Ciubotaru had two stints in Austria with Rapid Wien and Admira Wacker before he began his professional career with Rangers. He featured for the club’s B team in the 2022/23 season as a teenager before his switch to FC Hermannstadt. Scotland striker given future update Scotland international striker Che Adams is set to remain in Serie A with current side Torino after club president Urbano Cairo insisted he is not interested in selling the former Southampton man this summer. The 29-year-old is in the final year of his contract at the Olympic Grande Stadium, and has been linked to newly promoted side Venezia in recent weeks, with clubs in the EFL Championship also showing an interest. However, despite entering the last 12 months of his deal with Il Toro, the Italian side have no desire to let him move on to pastures new, and indeed to keep the marksman beyond the current window. “Adams is a player who has done very well for us,” said Cairo. “We consider him an important player and one we'd like to keep.” Adams has scored 18 times in 74 matches since joining the club on a Bosman free transfer in the summer of 2024, and was part of Steve Clarke’s squad at this summer’s World Cup in North America, where he started the Group C games against Haiti and Morocco. Rangers bid turfed out Rangers have had a bid worth £6million rejected by PSV Eindhoven for winger Couhaib Driouech, according to a report from Sky Sports. The Moroccan Under-23 international has emerged as a key target for manager Derek McInnes in recent days, with the Ibrox boss desperate to bolster his options on the flanks, despite signing Hannover 96 winger Daisuke Yokota earlier this week. The 24-year-old is also on the shortlist of Burnley and RB Salzburg, however, reports in the Netherlands indicate that Driouech has a preference for a transfer to Europa League side Celta Vigo, who are showing late interest in the player’s services. According to journalist Mounir Boualin, the La Liga side have officially made a move to sign the PSV Eindhoven star, which could scupper Rangers’ hopes of completing a deal for the PSV ace. Meanwhile, former Manchester United and England defender Chris Smalling has claimed he would be open to a move to a move to the Scottish Premiership this summer, with Rangers pitched as a potential destination. The 36-year-old is a free agent after leaving Saudi Pro League outfit Al-Fayha this summer, and was asked if Scotland would interest him, to which he replied: “To be fair, I can't name the clubs because some conversations are further along than others. I am open minded to all. I am not closing any doors, and I am open to all options and that is what we have on the table now.” Celtic to ‘step up’ interest Celtic are ready to launch a surprise move for Hearts striker Claudio Braga, according to reports. The Portuguese hitman has been the subject of major transfer speculation this summer following a summer of change at Tynecastle that has seen head coach Derek McInnes, captain Lawrence Shankland and key midfielder Cammy Devlin all move to Rangers, and the 26-year-old is rumoured to be next on the list of departures after a tough start to the new campaign. Speaking after the 6-1 Europa League defeat to Benfica on Thursday, head coach Wouter Vrancken said he couldn’t offer any guarantees over his star man’s future, but admitted he wanted to keep him in the capital if possible. Linked to Lyon and Brighton in recent weeks, a new report now claims that Celtic are ready to “step up” their pursuit of Braga, despite spending a combined £17million on strikers Camilo Duran and Kasper Hogh over the last few weeks. It adds that several clubs overseas are also interested. Meanwhile, Celtic could be set to miss out on long-term target Fares Ghedjemis after the Algerian international was made a ‘priority’ target for French outfit AS Monaco. The Frosinone winger has been in serious demand this summer after a standout campaign in Serie B last season. The Ligue 1 side had an offer of £6million, plus £1.7million in add-ons, rejected earlier this summer, but are now ready to return with an improved bid to win the race for his signature. 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