Rangers and Celtic have both made opening moves to land Motherwell youngster Bailey Rice - but face competition from clubs south of the border, according to a report.
The rivals have both kicked off talks and tabled offers to the Fir Park outfit as they battle it out to land the Scotland Under-17 cap this summer. An English Premier League club is reported to have also made their interest known with the Steelmen facing a fight to keep the young starlet in Lanarkshire say the Daily Record.
Motherwell has had a number of players break through and move on over the years with the likes of David Turnbull making the switch to Celtic, Jake Hastie moving to Rangers before recently completing a move south with Paul Hartley's Hartlepool United and Alan Campbell making an impact at Luton Town - with a recent Scotland cap for his efforts.
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The Well defender is not due to turn 16 until later this year and will then be eligible to sign his first pro terms.
Celtic and Rangers both see the teenage stopper as one of the best young players in Scotland and are trying to win the race to land his signature.
The same report states that if Motherwell are to lose Rice then they would like to strike a deal now with add-ons build in as it would be more than the basic compensation they would be due if he was to leave the club before signing on the dotted line.
Meanwhile, the SPFL have confirmed a host of Sky Sports TV games for the first month of the season including a locked in date and time for the first Old Firm derby.
Celtic will host Rangers on Saturday, September 3 with a 12.30pm kick-off.
Giovanni van Bronckhorst's men open the new campaign with a trip to Livingston on Saturday, 30 July with a midday start.
Ange Postecoglou's champions get started 24 hours later as they host Aberdeen at Parkhead in a 4.30pm kick-off.
Confirmed Scottish Premiership live games on Sky Sports
Saturday 30th July: Livingston vs Rangers, kick-off 12pm
Sunday 31st July: Celtic vs Aberdeen, kick-off 4.30pm
Sunday 7th August: Hibernian vs Hearts, kick-off 12pm
Sunday 14th August: Kilmarnock vs Celtic, kick-off 12pm
Saturday 20th August: Hibernian vs Rangers, kick-off 12.30pm
Sunday 28th August: Dundee United vs Celtic, kick-off 12pm
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