If you were listening closely to the Scottish football grapevine this week, you’d have heard some rather outlandish things said about Rangers and Hibs defender Ryan Porteous.
The Edinburgh centre-back doesn’t exactly see eye-to-eye with the Rangers faithful and hasn’t exactly covered himself in glory during matches against the Ibrox side.
Regularly involved in vicious and nasty challenges when Rangers come to town, there’s a feeling the defender has some quite bitter sentiment regarding the Gers boiling underneath the surface.
At one point, the defender’s aggression towards the Bears even threatened to derail a promising career.
But after an impressive Scotland debut during the break, Ryan Porteous helping the nation to a 0-0 draw in Ukraine and UEFA Nations League Group A, there has been some quite remarkable talk about the defender moving from Hibs to Rangers.
Most would probably wager that pigs might fly before the diehard Hibee signs on the dotted line at Rangers but that hasn’t stopped murmurs in the press this week.
Hibs’ Ryan Porteous mentioned alongside Rangers
The Scottish Sun had a story about Rangers being favourites to sign the player with the paper also mentioning Old Firm rivals Celtic, Jose Mourinho’s AS Roma and megabucks Newcastle United as potential destinations.
Then there was Kris Boyd – yes, the Kris Boyd – claiming his old side Rangers should be considering a move for the 23-year-old centre-back.
Writing in the Scottish Sun, the former Ibrox striker also made mention of the defender’s reckless and fiery past on the pitch before nodding to fact Ryan Porteous is out of contract this summer.
“If Rangers and Celtic are not already fighting it out for the signature of Ryan Porteous then they should be,” said Boyd.
“The Hibs defender is out of contract in the summer and he’ll be the perfect fit for either of the Old Firm, who need central defensive reinforcements.
“People might be surprised by me touting him for a big move as I have been critical of him in the past.
“Yes, some of his antics infuriate you but I have never ever questioned his ability.
“Porteous’ performance on his Scotland debut against Ukraine shows when he’s on it then he’s as good as any central defender in the country.”
I know what you’re thinking; surely given the bad blood between Rangers, Hibs and Ryan Porteous these links are a nonsense, and we’re inclined to say you’d be right.
But in the bonkers world of Scottish football we’ve seen plenty of surprises before even if the thought of Porteous in a Rangers shirt is so outlandish it’ll be raising a chuckle across Leith.
Rangers could also probably use defensive reinforcements given they are preparing to face Liverpool with as many as nine first-teamers ruled out of the tie.