Davie Provan has urged Celtic to sign former Rangers forward Steven Naismith, claiming the Hearts star ‘owes them nothing’.
Scotland international Naismith is out of contract at Tynecastle in the summer after signing a one-and-a-half year deal in the last January window, scoring 15 goals in 32 matches for the club.
Provan has now called on Celtic to launch a daring swoop to sign the former Rangers striker, claiming that the Gers missed out on their chance to sign him when he left Norwich.
In a column for the Scottish Sun, he said: “Brendan Rodgers has been a striker light since Moussa Dembele left for Lyon on the last day of the summer transfer window.
“He could do a lot worse than move for Steven Naismith, out of contract at Hearts this summer. Getting the 32-year-old international for nothing would be good business for Celtic if Naisy could handle the hassle.
“But, having been snubbed by Rangers when available at Norwich, he owes them nothing.”
OPINION
It is easy for Provan, a former Celtic player, to claim that Naismith owes Rangers nothing, but that may not be how the 32-year-old himself sees it. The fact is that Naismith spent five years at Ibrox, making 132 appearances for the club and scoring 33 goals in that time. The striker also started out at Rangers in his youth before heading to Kilmarnock, and has some big ties to the Ibrox club. Those are not easily forgotten, and while Celtic signing him is not necessarily out of the question, it will all come down to how Naismith sees things. Yes, as Provan points out, the Light Blues did turn down the chance to sign him when he left Norwich, but that does not mean too much in truth. Obviously from a Celtic point of view this would be a no-brainer, with Naismith being a prolific scorer and experienced operator in the Premiership. But the technicalities of securing his signature may be a step too far.