Ghedjemis Chooses Celtic Over Rangers in Old Firm Rivalry
The first shots of this season’s Old Firm battle might not come on the pitch. They may arrive in a boardroom, on a video call, with Frosinone sitting at one end and two Glasgow giants at the other.
Fares Ghedjemis, the winger both Celtic and Rangers have been chasing, has now made his preference clear. He wants Celtic.
That shift, reported by Celts Are Here, drops a live wire straight into an already charged rivalry. Rangers have gone harder with the money so far. Celtic now have the edge where it really matters to a player: in his head.
Celtic’s slow burn, Rangers’ fast start – off the pitch
Celtic’s summer has stuttered in fits and starts. A raft of departures from Parkhead left gaps all over the squad and, for a while, precious few answers. Kasper Hogh’s arrival from Bodo/Glimt, following Camilo Duran through the door, has finally nudged the window into life, but nobody inside the club will pretend the job is close to done.
Across the city, Rangers have been anything but quiet. Eight signings already for Derek McInnes, who has walked into Ibrox with a clear brief: stop Celtic, and do it quickly. The early signs on the pitch have been scratchy. A draw with Dundee United on the opening day of the Scottish Premiership was not the statement McInnes wanted as he begins his bid to right the wrongs of last season’s title race, ripped away by Celtic and Martin O’Neill on the final day.
Celtic, for their part, hardly roared out of the blocks either. A narrow 1-0 win over Dundee brought three points but few fireworks. Both sides look like teams still being built.
That’s what makes the Ghedjemis chase feel so pivotal. This isn’t just another name on a list. It’s a test of power, persuasion and pure financial nerve.
A deal that slipped away – and swung back
Celtic have been here before with Ghedjemis. In January, they had a €6m bid accepted by Frosinone for the Algeria international. The path to Glasgow was open. The player said no.
He chose to stay in Italy, roll up his sleeves and drag Frosinone over the line in the promotion race. It worked. They went up, and Ghedjemis walked into Serie A as a key figure in one of Italy’s most upwardly mobile squads.
Promotion changed everything. Frosinone no longer needed to sell, and certainly not at winter-window prices. They now see a winger about to test himself against the elite of Italian football and believe that stage alone should be enough to keep him. The price has gone up. The stance has hardened.
Rangers tested that resolve first. An £8m offer went in and was rejected. That bid already eclipsed Celtic’s January move and underlined just how serious McInnes and the Ibrox hierarchy are about landing him.
Yet money hasn’t settled the argument.
Ghedjemis, who once turned his back on Celtic’s advances, is now said to be open to the move and, crucially, to favour Parkhead over Ibrox. For Celtic, that’s a door they thought might be closed swinging wide again.
Forty‑eight hours that could shape a season
The next two days will be busy. Frosinone are set to hold fresh talks over Ghedjemis’ future within the next 48 hours, a window that could define where he plays his football this season.
Celtic and Rangers will be listening closely, but they won’t be alone. Interest in the 23-year-old has spread across Europe, with clubs from France, Spain and Italy all tracking his situation. The Old Firm are not just fighting each other; they are trying to outmuscle an entire chasing pack.
Celtic hold the advantage of the player’s preference. Rangers hold the advantage of having already shown they are prepared to go higher on the fee. Somewhere between those positions lies the decision Frosinone care about most: who pays, and how much.
The Italian club know exactly what they have. A promoted side, bracing for life in Serie A, is rarely keen to lose one of its best players, particularly a winger capable of carrying them up the pitch against superior opposition. They are in no mood to weaken themselves unless the numbers force their hand.
So the equation is brutally simple. If Celtic want to turn Ghedjemis’ preference into a green-and-white shirt, they will have to climb well beyond that €6m offer from January. If Rangers want to flip the narrative back in their favour, they must decide how far they are willing to push beyond a rejected £8m bid.
The title race has barely begun. The first derby is still weeks away. Yet in a negotiation room far from Glasgow, a winger’s decision and an Italian club’s resolve could tilt the balance of power before a ball is even truly rolling.
