{"id":44070,"date":"2026-03-05T04:14:14","date_gmt":"2026-03-05T09:14:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sportsdaily.news\/index.php\/2026\/03\/05\/celtic-join-rivals-rangers-in-competition-to-sign-dundee-fc-star-luke-graham\/"},"modified":"2026-03-05T04:14:14","modified_gmt":"2026-03-05T09:14:14","slug":"celtic-join-rivals-rangers-in-competition-to-sign-dundee-fc-star-luke-graham","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sportsdaily.news\/index.php\/2026\/03\/05\/celtic-join-rivals-rangers-in-competition-to-sign-dundee-fc-star-luke-graham\/","title":{"rendered":"Celtic join rivals Rangers in competition to sign Dundee FC star Luke Graham"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_74 counter-hierarchy ez-toc-counter ez-toc-grey ez-toc-container-direction\">\n<div class=\"ez-toc-title-container\">\n<p class=\"ez-toc-title\" style=\"cursor:inherit\">Table of Contents<\/p>\n<span class=\"ez-toc-title-toggle\"><a href=\"#\" class=\"ez-toc-pull-right ez-toc-btn ez-toc-btn-xs ez-toc-btn-default ez-toc-toggle\" aria-label=\"Toggle Table of Content\"><span class=\"ez-toc-js-icon-con\"><span class=\"\"><span class=\"eztoc-hide\" style=\"display:none;\">Toggle<\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-icon-toggle-span\"><svg style=\"fill: #999;color:#999\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"list-377408\" width=\"20px\" height=\"20px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\"><path d=\"M6 6H4v2h2V6zm14 0H8v2h12V6zM4 11h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2zM4 16h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2z\" fill=\"currentColor\"><\/path><\/svg><svg style=\"fill: #999;color:#999\" class=\"arrow-unsorted-368013\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"10px\" height=\"10px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" version=\"1.2\" baseProfile=\"tiny\"><path d=\"M18.2 9.3l-6.2-6.3-6.2 6.3c-.2.2-.3.4-.3.7s.1.5.3.7c.2.2.4.3.7.3h11c.3 0 .5-.1.7-.3.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7zM5.8 14.7l6.2 6.3 6.2-6.3c.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7c-.2-.2-.4-.3-.7-.3h-11c-.3 0-.5.1-.7.3-.2.2-.3.5-.3.7s.1.5.3.7z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/a><\/span><\/div>\n<nav><ul class='ez-toc-list ez-toc-list-level-1 ' ><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-1\" href=\"https:\/\/sportsdaily.news\/index.php\/2026\/03\/05\/celtic-join-rivals-rangers-in-competition-to-sign-dundee-fc-star-luke-graham\/#Celtic_and_Rangers_compete_for_SPL_star\" >Celtic and Rangers compete for SPL star<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-2\" href=\"https:\/\/sportsdaily.news\/index.php\/2026\/03\/05\/celtic-join-rivals-rangers-in-competition-to-sign-dundee-fc-star-luke-graham\/#Graham_could_sign_%E2%80%98fantastic_contract_with_Celtic\" >Graham could sign &#8216;fantastic&#8217; contract with Celtic<\/a><ul class='ez-toc-list-level-5' ><li class='ez-toc-heading-level-5'><ul class='ez-toc-list-level-5' ><li class='ez-toc-heading-level-5'><ul class='ez-toc-list-level-5' ><li class='ez-toc-heading-level-5'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-3\" href=\"https:\/\/sportsdaily.news\/index.php\/2026\/03\/05\/celtic-join-rivals-rangers-in-competition-to-sign-dundee-fc-star-luke-graham\/#SFA_to_investigate_Rangers-Celtic_penalty_penalty_missed_by_John_Beaton_former_PMGOL_chief_says\" >SFA to investigate Rangers-Celtic penalty penalty missed by John Beaton, former PMGOL chief says<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/li><\/ul><\/li><\/ul><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n<div>\n<p>Celtic are ahead of rivals Rangers in the race to sign the &#8216;fantastic&#8217; Scottish Premiership star, with clubs currently lining up to sign him.<\/p>\n<p>    <!-- No AdsNinja v10 Client! --><!-- No AdsNinja v10 Client! --><\/p>\n<h2 id=\"celtic-and-rangers-doing-battle-for-spl-stars\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Celtic_and_Rangers_compete_for_SPL_star\"><\/span>\n                        <strong>Celtic and Rangers compete for SPL star<\/strong><br \/>\n               <span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>The race for the Scottish Premiership title is in full swing, with Hearts currently favored, with the Edinburgh side sitting at the top of the table with a five-point lead thanks to a hugely favorable result at the weekend.<\/p>\n<p>Derek McInnes&#8217; side defeated Aberdeen 1-0 at Tynecastle, while Rangers and Celtic drew 2-2 at Ibrox, with Reo Hatate saving a point for the visitors in stoppage time and bringing the ball home after his first penalty was saved by Jack Butland.<\/p>\n<p>Martin O&#8217;Neill has now urged his January recruits to step up as the season draws to a close, saying:<em> &#8220;We&#8217;ve accepted players who have the potential to play in the big leagues, no matter what anyone says. But this is tough, no more tough than going to Ibrox as a starting point.&#8221;<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>&#8220;But yes, now that they understand what this is, you&#8217;re going to want them to come in and make an impact in the last few months of the season.&#8221;<\/em><\/p>\n<p>O&#8217;Neill is set to leave in the summer, but a replacement for the 74-year-old has not yet been named, but the Hoops are already making plans for the summer transfer window.<\/p>\n<p>It has emerged that the Glasgow giants are neck-and-neck with Rangers in the race to sign Kilmarnock midfielder David Watson, but he is not the only Scottish Premiership star they are eyeing.<\/p>\n<p>Sports Boom reports that Celtic are currently in the race to sign Dundee star Luke Graham, who has been on Rangers&#8217; radar for some time, with Barry Ferguson also considered a big fan.<\/p>\n<p>    Dundee are targeting between \u00a32m and \u00a32.5m for the defender amid widespread interest, with Brentford, Portsmouth and Lincoln City also said to be interested.<\/p>\n<p>    <!-- No AdsNinja v10 Client! --><\/p>\n<h2 id=\"graham-could-be-quot-fantastic-quot-signing-for-celtic\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Graham_could_sign_%E2%80%98fantastic_contract_with_Celtic\"><\/span>\n                        <strong>Graham could sign &#8216;fantastic&#8217; contract with Celtic<\/strong><br \/>\n               <span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>Scotland Under-21s coach Scott Gemmill was full of praise for the 22-year-old, saying earlier this season: <em>&#8220;Luke is great. He&#8217;s obviously playing at Premiership level now, he&#8217;s doing great. He was great in the Czech Republic. He was a great player.&#8221;<\/em><\/p>\n<p>The Scottish centre-back has not only impressed for his national team, but has averaged 1.0 blocks per 90 in the Scottish Premiership this season, the most of any Dundee player, and ranks second with an average of 1.2 interceptions per 90.<\/p>\n<div class=\"display-card  article article-card small  no-badge  active-content                      \" data-include-community-rating=\"false\" id=\"sfa-enquiry-into-rangers-v-celtic-penalty-incident-john-beaton-missed\" data-nosnippet=\"\">\n<picture><source media=\"(max-width: 480px)\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/static0.footballfancastimages.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/adamu-celtic-fernandez-rangers.jpg?q=49&amp;fit=crop&amp;w=140&amp;h=98&amp;dpr=2\" srcset=\"https:\/\/static0.footballfancastimages.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/adamu-celtic-fernandez-rangers.jpg?q=49&amp;fit=crop&amp;w=140&amp;h=98&amp;dpr=2\"\/>\n        <\/picture>\n<p>                    <span data-field=\"label\" class=\"article-card-label\"><label>related<\/label><\/span><\/p>\n<div class=\"w-display-card-content regular article-block\">\n<h5 class=\"display-card-title \"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"SFA_to_investigate_Rangers-Celtic_penalty_penalty_missed_by_John_Beaton_former_PMGOL_chief_says\"><\/span>\n<p>\t\t\tSFA to investigate Rangers-Celtic penalty penalty missed by John Beaton, former PMGOL chief says<\/p>\n<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h5>\n<p class=\"display-card-excerpt\">There was much controversy in the aftermath of the Old Firm&#8230;<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p>There are question marks over Celtic&#8217;s defense, which has conceded 30 goals in the Scottish Premiership this season &#8211; more than Hearts, Rangers and Motherwell.<\/p>\n<p>Bringing in a new centre-back this summer would therefore be a smart move and Graham could be ready to step up from Dundee.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Celtic are ahead of rivals Rangers in the race to sign the &#8216;fantastic&#8217; Scottish Premiership star, with clubs currently lining up to sign him. Celtic and Rangers compete for SPL star The race for the Scottish Premiership title is in full swing, with Hearts currently favored, with the Edinburgh side sitting at the top of [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":44071,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[15],"tags":[534,3254,8937,40,6330,199,5079,1026,637,43,86],"class_list":{"0":"post-44070","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-football","8":"tag-celtic","9":"tag-competition","10":"tag-dundee","11":"tag-football","12":"tag-graham","13":"tag-join","14":"tag-luke","15":"tag-rangers","16":"tag-rivals","17":"tag-sign","18":"tag-star"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportsdaily.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/44070","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportsdaily.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportsdaily.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportsdaily.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportsdaily.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=44070"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/sportsdaily.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/44070\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportsdaily.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/44071"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportsdaily.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=44070"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportsdaily.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=44070"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportsdaily.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=44070"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}