Rangers exit on cards, Celtic 'in talks', St Mirren desperate - Scottish transfer news
Here is all the latest Scottish transfer news on Thursday morning - including reports from Celtic, Rangers, St Mirren, and Dundee.
Here are the top Scottish transfer headlines, completed deals and rumours on Thursday morning as the wheels continue to turn in the January transfer window.
These are the latest reports from Rangers, Celtic, St Mirren, and Dundee.
Dundee double deal
Dundee head coach Steven Pressley has made two further January additions as he continues to bolster his squad ahead of the second half of the Scottish Premiership season. The Dens Park side completed the signing of Burnley youngster Joe Bevan earlier in the window, and have now added Bradford City defender Brad Halliday and Swansea City midfielder Joel Cotterill after the club confirmed the double deal on Wednesday afternoon.
Halliday, 30, admits he is delighted to be joining the club after agreeing a two-and-a-half year deal following his move from Valley Parade, saying: "My best mate in football [Joe Wright] was at Kilmarnock last year, he's given me his insight and experience on the Scottish Premiership. I'm really excited and can't wait to get going."
Meanwhile, Wales under-21 international Cotterill has signed a loan deal until the end of the season. "I had a Zoom call with the gaffer, was really interesting, said nothing but good things about the club, that really hooked me in," said Cotterill. "Obviously knowing Cam (Congreve), Yan (Dhanda) and Joe Westley helped, I had a few chats with Cam who spoke highly about his time up here so far and would be really good for me, ready for a new challenge."
St Mirren ‘desperate’ for signings
St Mirren head coach Stephen Robinson admits he is in desperate need of additions this month, after seeing his side lose 2-0 to league leaders Hearts at Tynecastle on Wednesday, despite being down to 10 men for the majority of the clash.
The Northern Irish boss is missing several players due to injury, and hasn’t won any of their last five league games. “The last three games have been six mistakes,” fumed Robinson. “Teams are having to open us up. We’re carrying maybe six or seven players each game - and you can’t do that. We’re desperate for help; we’re desperate to get people in. But there isn’t a queue of people wanting to come to St Mirren for the level we play, and we get what we get. We get on trial people, or people who have carried injuries. That’s no excuse for the individual errors, though. That’s a pride to defend.”
Rangers offered ‘cut price’ deal
Rangers could land key midfield target Dan Neil for a ‘cut price’ fee this month, with a new report claiming Sunderland are ready to sanction the player’s exit. The 24-year-old is out of contract at the Stadium of Light in the summer, and looks set to depart the club after seeing just 13 minutes of league action this season, despite being a virtual ever-present in the side’s promotion-winning side last year.
According to a report from Sky Sports on Wednesday, it has become “clear” that the Hebburn-born midfielder will leave Wearside before the end of the month, with Bundesliga side FC Koln and West Ham United ready to rival Rangers for the player’s signature.
However, should the Glasgow outfit win that particular battle, it has emerged that they would likely pay a low-cost transfer fee for his services. While Neil can discuss a pre-contract agreement with clubs on the continent, Rangers boss Danny Rohl wants to secure his signing now, and the Black Cats are prepared to allow him to leave to net a profit on the academy graduate, rather than him leaving for free.
Celtic ‘in talks’
Celtic have been credited with an interest in several attackers over the last fortnight, and reports now claim the club has ‘made contact’ with Slovenian outfit Celje over their star forward, Franko Kovacevic. Thought to be valued at around the £2.5million mark, the 26-year-old is the latest name to be linked with a move to Parkhead, while a report from Italian transfer journalist Fabrizio Romano indicated that the club had also reignited their interest in summer transfer target David Datro Fofana yesterday.
Lorient’s Mohamed Bamba and Union Berlin’s Andrej Ilic have also been rumoured to be on Celtic’s January wishlist, with the club seeking to bolster their frontline before the transfer window shuts on February 2.
Rangers exit on cards
Rangers defender Max Aarons is a January transfer target for two European giants this month after falling down the pecking order at Ibrox in recent months. The AFC Bournemouth full-back moved to Ibrox in the summer on a season-long loan deal, but hasn’t started any of the club’s last five matches.
According to a report from transfer expert Ekrem Konur, the defender’s lack of game time has alerted both Lazio and Sevilla to the 26-year-old’s availability, with his parent club mulling over a potential recall for him to allow him to move elsewhere this month in search of first-team football.
Under contract until the summer of 2029 at the Vitality Stadium, it is believed that both clubs have shown interest in exploring a permanent deal for the Englishman in the summer as part of any loan deal.
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