Journalist tells Jim White what he has heard about Rangers and Celtic pursuit of Scott McKenna
Nottingham Forest will not stand in the way of Scott McKenna amid interest from Rangers and Celtic in signing the defender this month.
Asked by host Jim White on talkSPORT what he knows about the situation on Friday (5 January, 11:53am), the journalist said the Hoops currently appear to be the favourites to sign the Scotland international.
He revealed that the 27-year-old centre-back had a fall-out with former Forest manager Steve Cooper before so far failing to earn his place back under new boss Nuno Espirito Santo at the City Ground.
“If we’re talking Nottingham Forest, we’re talking Scott McKenna,” said White. “Celtic in the chase are they?”
“Yeah, I was told yesterday that Rangers have shown some interest as well, so both the big clubs in Scotland looking at McKenna,” responded Crook.
“He had a bit of a fall-out with Steve Cooper towards the end of Cooper’s tenure. He wasn’t in and around the first team, hasn’t won his place back under Nuno Espirito Santo. He’s been a good servant for Forest, part of the team that got them from the Championship into the Premier League.
“But I don’t see that Forest will stand in his way. I think he’d be a good pick-up for one of those two big Scottish clubs. At the moment, Jim, Celtic appear to be the favourites.”
Another battle
It sounds as though Rangers and Celtic are once again going head to head to sign a player after both clubs were previously interested in Fabio Silva before he made the loan move to Ibrox.
Although the Hoops are believed to be the frontrunners at this moment in time, these situations can change at any moment and nothing is done until the player signs on the dotted line.
McKenna’s time at Forest definitely looks set to come to an end this month after falling out of favour at the City Ground, having featured just five times in the Premier League this season, the most recent of which was back in September against Burnley.
The Scotsman started 19 games in the English top flight last season and it would’ve been more if it wasn’t for injuries, suggesting he is more than capable of coming in and performing in the SPFL for the Gers.
His previous exploits at Aberdeen also back that up as the defender would be an excellent addition to Philippe Clement’s backline if the Light Blues can get a deal over the line.
In other Rangers news, Clement wants to sign an English defender after a “very difficult” situation has emerged.