Rangers enter talks, Celtic transfer ‘cancelled’, 7-goal EPL star on Scotland radar - Scottish transfers
Here are all the latest Scottish football transfer stories and more on Wednesday afternoon - including Rangers, Celtic, Dundee, and the Scotland national team.
Here are the top Scottish transfer headlines as the re-opening of the January transfer window begins, with the reports from Celtic, Rangers, Dundee, and the Scotland national team.
Dundee closing in on striker
Dundee head coach Steven Pressley is closing in on the permanent signing of Burnley youngster Joe Bevan after the 21-year-old was granted permission to speak with the Scottish Premiership outfit. The Dens Park outfit has scored just 18 league goals so far this term - the joint-second lowest tally in the division - and wants to add to their frontline during the January window.
Bevan, who began his career in Scotland with Albion Rovers, moved to Turf Moor in the summer of 2024 following a successful trial period at the club, before spending the second half of last season on loan at Carlisle United in EFL League Two. According to The Courier, Pressley hopes to have the player signed and available for this weekend’s derby clash with Dundee United, with the youngster expected to replace injury victim Joe Westley, who is expected to be ruled out of action for several months with an ankle injury.
Ex-Rangers boss misses out on role
Former Rangers boss Russell Martin will not be named the new manager of MLS club Columbus Crew, despite reports claiming he was being targeted as a replacement for Wilfried Nancy, who left the club to join Celtic last month. The former Ibrox head coach was relieved of his duties at Ibrox after winning just one of his opening seven league games at the top, but he is reported to have made the final stages of the interviewing process with the club. But they have now opted to take a different direction.
According to reports in the United States, the club is now finalizing a deal to name Henrik Rydstrom the club’s next manager. The 49-year-old led Malmo to two league titles during his time in charge of the club, and has been identified as the ideal replacement for Nancy ahead of the new MLS season, which restarts in February.
Celtic transfer ‘cancelled’
Manchester City are set to recall defender Jahmai Simpson-Pusey from his loan at Celtic, after seeing the 20-year-old make just one league appearance for the club since his arrival in the summer. The highly-rated centre-back signed on a season-long loan deal in the summer and was credited as being an “important and quality addition” to the Hoops squad by former boss Brendan Rodgers. However, he barely featured in the opening months of the campaign.
His sole appearance came in the 4-0 home win over Kilmarnock under interim boss Martin O’Neill in November, and the youngster will now see his loan spell at Parkhead brought to a premature end by his parent club. After struggling to make an impact at Parkhead, reports claim the Cityzens now want to loan him out to an EFL Championship club in the hope he will be offered the chance to play regular first-team football.
Rangers enter talks over deal
Rangers head coach Danny Rohl says the club is still locked in talks with Scotland international defender John Souttar over a new deal at the club. The key defender has just six months to run on his current deal at Ibrox, and made his return to the Rangers starting XI in the 2-1 win over St Mirren on Tuesday after a six-week injury lay off, and the club is keen to extend his stay at the club beyond the season.
"John did well,” said Rohl after the midweek. “It was also not easy to sub him out, but it was again. I have to protect him from a new injury. It's not always easy, but I think he showed good quality in building up, but also against the ball, very strong. We are in talks, we are clear what we want to do with him, and let's see now in which direction it goes. But I am very positive, and hopefully more players are back for the next game."
Rangers have also been linked with a move for former Hearts left-back James Penrice. The 27-year-old defender only joined Greek giants AEK Athens in the summer, but is reported to be high on Rohl’s transfer wishlist in January.
7-goal EPL star on Scotland radar
Scotland head coach Steve Clarke admits he is “open” to the idea of calling up Newcastle United’s Harvey Barnes. The £38million winger has been in fine form for the Magpies this season, scoring seven goals in all competitions, and has refused to rule out the possibility of playing for Scotland, with Barnes eligible for the country via his maternal grandparents.
The 28-year-old has been capped by England, but can switch allegiances due to his sole appearance for the Three Lions coming in a friendly, not a competitive match, which would allow him to switch to Scotland under FIFA rules.
"It's just pretty open, that's how it is,” Clarke told Sky Sports. "Harvey was asked about it in an interview; he was pretty non-committal. I've been asked about it in an interview, and I'm going to be pretty non-committal. You never know how these things are going to pan out. I spoke to Harvey a couple of years ago about possibly coming and joining the Scotland squad. At the time, he'd moved to Newcastle, he felt he had a chance of being involved with England, and we decided just to leave it there, and that's the situation."
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