By Pete Wilson

25 May 2010

It would be the most sensational football transfer of the summer, certainly in Scotland and possibly in Europe, but the Scottish Sun claims today that Celtic are preparing to offer the mercurial Rangers and Scotland striker Kris Boyd a £1m signing-on fee plus £30,000 a week to cross the Old Firm divide.

In the same paper, the former Celtic and Wales forward, John Hartson, warns Boyd: “Kris Boyd, Celtic player. His life would be over. I’m not being melodramatic . . . Truth is, his life would not be worth living.”

Boyd is the top scorer in SPL history, having netted 164 SPL goals for Kilmarnock and Rangers to overtake Henrik Larsson’s 158.

Boyd, 26, is out of contract this summer, hence the frenzied speculation about his future. He is reportedly also wanted by Birmingham, Newcastle and others, although any rumours that keep him in the headlines can only help keep his visibility high, and perhaps land him a more lucrative offer.

Stories like today’s could also put pressure on Rangers to make the player another offer to stay. An actual move from Rangers to Celtic is about as likely as Arsene Wenger becoming Blackpool manager this summer while Ian Holloway takes over at Arsenal.

Critics say Boyd does little but score, and successive managers at club and international level have been evidently wary of starting him in the biggest games. Pro-Boyd fans look at his goal-scoring stats and say they tell their own story.

Rangers are susceptible to losing Boyd because of their parlous financial situation.

[UPDATE, afternoon, 25 May 2010: Celtic have released a statement saying: “Welcome to the silly season. We can categorically state that Kris Boyd has never been a target for Celtic and at no time have we ever attempted to sign him. We will not, repeat NOT, be making a bid for the player.”]

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