Ledley urges Vaughan to join Rangers

Celtic and Wales midfielder believes his international team-mate would enjoy rivalry of Old Firm games

(GETTY IMAGES)

Joe Ledley believes his Wales team-mate David Vaughan would enjoy himself in the Old Firm environment if he were to join Rangers. Blackpool midfielder Vaughan, 28, who played for Wales in the 3-1 Carling Nations Cup defeat by Scotland in Dublin on Wednesday night, claimed he had been subject to an approach from the Ibrox club and admitted his interest in joining the Scottish champions.

Asked what advice he would give to Vaughan if asked, Celtic midfielder Ledley, who missed the Scotland game through injury, laughed then replied: "I would say, 'You are going to enjoy it up here'. Two big clubs and you won't get bigger clubs to play for at the end of the day. But it's his decision, it is nothing to do with what I say.

"He will have lots of clubs after him because he's a great player. I've played with him lots of times with Wales and I played against him in the play-off final [for Cardiff]. It's not just Rangers who will be after him, there will be a lot of Premiership teams after him as well."

Ledley, at Celtic Park to model the club's new yellow-and-black hooped third kit for next season, was looking forward to teaming up with former Cardiff team-mate Adam Matthews.

The 19-year-old defender, who made his Wales debut as a substitute against Scotland last night, will arrive at Celtic in the summer. "He didn't have much time and he didn't play that much football last season so obviously he is going to be rusty," said Ledley. "He did well coming on under pressure and there is pressure playing for Cardiff and he dealt with that pretty well.

"He is a great player and there were loads of teams after him. He has a lot to learn and coming up here, hopefully, he will get a place in the team and do well. It's a fresh start for him and he will look forward to playing in front of the Celtic fans."

Ledley was disappointed to miss the end of the season and the Scottish Cup final win over Motherwell with a hamstring injury. "I was gutted," he said. "I tried to get back for the final but there was no chance. And obviously I am disappointed that we didn't win the league as well. But we played good football this season and it was great to get the first trophy and we will build on that for next season. I have still a week or so to go. I've done well, normally grade two [hamstring injuries] take six to eight weeks, so hopefully in under six weeks it will be fine."

Meanwhile, the Arsenal midfielder Aaron Ramsey is confident he can handle the pressure and responsibility of captaining Wales. His club manager, Arsène Wenger, has voiced concerns about Gary Speed's decision to entrust him with the job at the age of 20.

Wenger feels it could hamper his progress at a time when he is trying to re-establish himself in the Gunners team after recovering from a badly broken leg. Ramsey said: "I had a chat with my manager at Arsenal. I said to him that I didn't see a problem with it and that I was ready to captain Wales."