Celtic and Rangers set sights on £1.5m man as Portsmouth face summer battle after failed January swoop
Pompey had several bids rejected for Dundee defender Luke Graham in the January transfer window.
Pompey reportedly face competition if they reignite their interest in Luke Graham in the summer.
It was a hectic finale to the transfer window at Fratton Park, with the Blues recruiting three new faces before the market slammed shut on February 2.
Jacob Brown, Madiodio Dia and Gustavo Caballero all arrived on the final day of the window as John Mousinho rounded off his side’s winter business.
But there was one deal which went right up until deadline day but eventually failed to materialise.
Graham was firmly on the radar of the football operations at Fratton Park as the Blues targeted a January swoop for one of Scottish football’s emerging talents.
The door, though, was left open by the head coach to reignite that interest in the summer after putting the initial groundwork in last month.
Celtic and Rangers eye summer move for Pompey target
However, Pompey are now reportedly facing fresh competition for Graham as his stock continues to rise.
Scottish giants Celtic and Rangers are both believed to be keen on landing the 22-year–old when the market reopens in June, it had been claimed.
Football Insider have suggested the Glasgow outfits are keeping tabs on the Scot’s progress just weeks after Pompey’s failed swoop.
Pompey boss leaves door open for Luke Graham pursuit
Mousinho’s men did have bids, which started at £1.5m, rejected after the Scottish Premiership strugglers inflated their valuation as the window progressed.
He told The News earlier this month: ‘We will see what the situation is with those players.
‘It’s like Gustavo (Caballero). We missed out on Gustavo in the summer, so we kept an eye on that because we obviously liked the player. We said we’ll see how it pans out over the next three or four months.
‘It happens and that’s absolutely fine (deals aren’t completed), but you never know what could happen at the end back end of the season.
‘We’ll always monitor it and keep an eye on things. Whatever way it goes, we’ve done a lot of work on a lot of these players - so we will keep an eye on their situations.’
‘What happened was the valuation of the other club got far too high for what we felt was good value.
‘Whether you’re the richest or poorest club in the world, you have to do the right thing at the right time otherwise you’re in trouble as a football club and squad. It then has knock-on implications for the rest of the window and the summer.
‘Like with Callum Lang, we value the player at a certain level and we think it’s the right thing to do.
‘It’s the same with incomings. If we value a player at a certain level, we are more than willing to put the bid in and will spend the money.
‘But as soon as the valuation becomes too much, and it became far too high in a couple of cases, it’s time to move on.’