‘Celtic are leading by a wide margin’ – Rangers title-winner tips midfielder for Hoops transfer

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Celtic are doing a pretty good job at getting their transfer business done early.

It’s needed for Brendan Rodgers because Celtic’s Premiership campaign starts on August 3, and you also have the Champions League qualifiers.

With Kieran Tierney, Ross Doohan, Benjamin Nygren, and Callum Osmand through the doors, the Celtic supporters saw these signings coming because of the speculation beforehand.

But, from an unlikely source, amid Celtic’s dominance in Scotland, they have been tipped to, one day, get their hands on a midfielder heading to Scotland.

• READ MORE: Watch bizarre Greg Taylor to PAOK transfer announcement video as Celtic exit sealed

Rangers title-winner Andrei Kanchelskis backs Islam Chesnokov for Celtic transfer

Andrei Kanchelskis won two Premiership titles at Rangers, now he is working in his native Russia, and he was asked about the future of Hearts-bound Islam Chesnokov.

As posted by the Daily Record, asked about why Chesnokov could be heading to the Jambos, he noted the ‘quite high level’ of the Scottish Premiership.

But Kanchelskis thinks this is also a pathway for Chesnokov to play for a team like Celtic, and an ‘opportunity to be noticed’ by them if he performs well.

The former winger also wanted to note the ‘wide margin’ between Celtic and Rangers, despite Scotland being a league with ‘two teams’.

“The Scottish league is quite high level, and there is a lot of quality there,” explained Kanchelskis on why Chesnokov is moving to Hearts.

“It’s a very physical league. But the problem is that this is only a league with two teams – Celtic and Rangers. And Celtic are leading by a wide margin.

“Another five or six, including Hearts, are fighting for places in the European competitions. But the main advantage for Islam Chesnokov of moving to Scotland is the opportunity to be noticed by Celtic or English clubs and eventually sign for them. This is an opportunity for progress.

“Yes, the level of the Russian Premier League is clearly higher than in Scotland, but there’s no Europe for him there, and no one will notice him in Russia.

“So if it was me, I would have done what Islam did and moved to Scotland too.”

Who is Chesnokov, and where does he play?

Chesnokov is a 25-year-old midfielder who plies his trade for FC Tobol – a team in Kazakhstan’s top-tier.

The versatile attacker, who can also operate on the flanks, has played for three clubs in his career, including in Belarus.

Added to that, Chesnokov has 15 caps for Kazakhstan, making his debut two years ago, so he has been a bit of a late bloomer.

The Kazakhstan Premier League is at the halfway stage of its campaign, and as you can see above, Chesnokov has played all over the shop.

A perfect Brendan Rodgers-type player, so if he does earn his move to Hearts, then it will be interesting to see how he performs.