Rangers and Aberdeen will shortly be catching up on their missed Scottish Premiership action this week following a Viaplay Cup final which saw Philippe Clement pick up his first trophy as Ibrox manager.

Hibs and Hearts, however, will enjoy a much needed break before taking on Ross County and St Mirren respectively this weekend. The Hibees suffered a devastating 1-0 defeat at the hands of St Johnstone while the Jambos enjoyed an exceptional win over Celtic at Parkhead.

Ahead of a busy Scottish Premiership week, here is all the latest news from Hibs, Hearts and their rivals…

Celtic star makes Premier League return

Nat Phillips’ short-term loan deal with Celtic will not be extended and the 26-year-old centre-half will return to Liverpool in January (Football Scotland).

The defender joined Celtic amid an injury crisis at the Hoops with Cameron Carter-Vickers, Stephen Welsh, Maik Nawrocki and Yuki Kobayashi all suffering long-term injuries. Phillips, however, has struggled to convince at the Scottish Premiership and has featured only eight times for Brendan Rodgers.

The Athletic has now reported Phillips will not be offered an extension and will now rejoin Jurgen Klopp’s side next month with the view to joining another club on loan for the second half of the 2023/24 campaign.

Interest grows in Hoops defender

Alexandro Bernabei is poised to make a January exit from Celtic, with interest in the 24-year-old Argentine left-back from clubs in his homeland and Italy as the Scottish champions consider Estoril’s £4m-rated Tiago Araujo as competition for Greg Taylor (The Sun).

Bernabei joined the Hoops for £3.5 million but has failed to establish himself with reports indicating he could well be sent on loan in the new year. The Argentina U-23 star holds an Italian passport and would be keen for a move there but is still highly rated back home and is not likely to have a shortage of options when the Primera Division window opens in late January.

Hearts set for transfer battle

Kilmarnock would find it difficult to reject a bid in the region of £600,000 for Daniel Armstrong, with Hearts and Charlotte among clubs from Scotland, the English Championship and Major League Soccer considering a bid for the 26-year-old winger in January (TeamTalk).

Hearts reportedly have a strong interest in the winger, with their Sporting Director Joe Savage admitting at a recent AGM that the club are looking into a potential transfer. Savage said it would be a million-pound deal to bring Armstrong in. TEAMtalk understands, however, that Kilmarnock would actually be willing to listen to offers of around £600,000.

Armstrong’s cut-price valuation has sparked the interest of multiple sides from the English Championship and MLS, such as Charlotte FC, who are among the American clubs keen to lure him over to the States.

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