Celtic boss outlines January transfer 'priority' as Rangers star 'addresses' permanent move rumours

Rangers and Celtic are both back in Scottish Premiership action this afternoon with Philippe Clement aiming to extend his unbeaten start as Ibrox boss and Brendan Rodgers looking for his side to bounce back from a Champions League thrashing.

The Gers are in West Lothian to face Livingston this lunchtime, while the Hoops and current league leaders welcome Aberdeen to Parkhead.

In the meantime, we have rounded up all of the latest transfer stories on Sunday, November 12th:

Celtic boss outlines January transfer 'priority'

Brendan Rodgers has hinted that he will target a new striker in the January transfer window to cover for the absence of Asian Cup-bound Kyogo Furuhashi and Oh Hyeon-gyu.

The Celtic manager admits he's likely to be without FIVE players in the New Year for a month as they depart for the tournament in Qatar, with Daizen Maeda, Reo Hatate and Yang Hyun-jun also expected to be called upon by their countries.

It comes amid a busy period in the fixture calendar for the Scottish champions and Rodgers will prioritise the forward area as he looks to bring in more attacking ammunition. He also indicated dipping into the loan market is a strong possibility.

Rodgers confirmed: "We've given the Asian Cup a lot of thought. The likelihood is - if they're fit - a lot of them will be there (in Qatar). That's part of our planning.

"It doesn't change our plans for January as it's not a surprise. We knew it was there. We spoke about it in the summer leading into this window. We have that in hand and we know what our ideas are for that. It's about strategy. You can either buy one or you can look at the loan market. It's always about availability and what you can afford as well.

"Is it a big loss for us (the players going away)? Yeah, but it's always an opportunity for someone else. Everyone is replaceable. You want to have all your squad here but we've known all along they won't be so we're prepared.

"Our first look will always be inside. Is there anyone in the academy we feel can step in? You never know, you might have a £15million or £20million player in there. We'll assess that. If it's not inside then of course, we'll have a look outside.

"Players can also switch positions. The last time I was here, I played Patrick Roberts or James Forrest as a striker for a number of games. We've got adaptability within the squad but we know what we'll need."

Rangers star 'addresses' permanent move rumours

Abdallah Sima is refusing to rule out becoming a permanent Rangers player beyond his season-long loan stint.

The 22-year-old attacker has bagged an impressive nine goals in 21 appearances for the Ibrox club since joining on a temporary basis from English Premier League side Brighton in the summer.

Sima, alongside goalkeeper Jack Butland, have been the only real success stories of the squad overhaul that was carried out by Michael Beale. And the Senegalese star has addressed the chances of a potential long-term stay in Glasgow should the opportunity present itself at the end of the season.

Asked if he's enjoying his time at Ibrox, Sima replied: "Yeah of course, if you play here like at a big club like Rangers, you know, and you enjoy every game that's why I wanted to play my football here and I found everything here to do that.

"For me the most important thing is to play and enjoy every game here, for sure I am very happy here, my family is happy here so we don't know what happens in the future. For me I'm happy to be here and playing my football."