Rangers loan bid 'rejected', Celtic transfer 'matter of time', Scotland defender in talks - Scottish transfer news

St Mirren head coach Stephen Robinson admits he may be forced to dip into the transfer market after being deal a major injury blow. The Buddies continued their pre-season preparations with a 2-2 draw against EFL League Two side Fleetwood yesterday thanks to goals from Oisin Smyth and Lewis Jamieson and are now just 10 days away from their Europa Conference tie against Valur of Iceland or Vllaznia. However, the Northern Irish boss revealed key attacker Greg Kiltie will miss the clash after he was forced to undergo an operation this week. “Greg has had an operation,” said Robinson. “Unfortunately he is going to be out for three months. It’s probably a similar timeline for him and Conor (McMenamin). That’s two big blows for us in terms of the system that we play, both of them having been vital as those two numbers 10s. That’s something we’re going to have to look at. I tried something today and it didn’t particularly work to be honest. We have to look at how we replace that and others who are going to step up.”

Scotland defender nears EFL Championship switch

Blackburn Rovers are in talks with Scotland international Liam Cooper. The Lancashire-based side are aiming to add the experienced centre-back to their squad after his contract at Leeds United came to an end last month. The 32-year-old, who formed part of Steve Clarke’s Euro 2024 squad in Germany, is available for free with his decade-long stay at Elland Road likely to come to an end. The centre-back missed out on promotion back to the English Premier League last season, losing 1-0 to Southampton in the EFL Championship play off final at Wembley and, while Cooper has an option to stay with Leeds, his is reported to be searching for regular first team football after playing just 19 games last term. Rovers boss John Eustace would be able to offer him a starting berth and is hoping to add him to the squad in order to bolster a back line that currently has just two fit centre-backs. Sheffield United have also been linked with a move for the defender as he weighs up his options this summer.

Fresh doubts cast over Miovski’s Aberdeen future

New doubts over the future of Aberdeen hotshot Bojan Miovski have been cast after the 25-year-old striker was left out of the 3-0 Premier Sports Cup win over Queen of the South this weekend. The North Macedonia forward bagged 16 Scottish Premiership goals for the Dons last season and has been subject of transfer speculation throughout the summer, with Italian side Bologna thought to be keeping tabs on the player. “We had a good chat with him,” said Aberdeen’s new Swedish head coach Jimmy Thelin. “There is a lot of things going around right now, so I had a good chat with him yesterday and we decided he should not play this game and keep working next week together.” The future of fellow Dons ace Luis ‘Duk’ Lopes is also in major doubt after he was also left out of squad for the victory over the Scottish League One side due to an ‘international disciplinary matter’.

Striker nears Celtic Park exit door

South Korean forward Hyeon-gyu Oh is set to depart Celtic after just 18 months, according to sports journalist Sacha Tavolieri. The 23-year-old forward scored five goals in 20 Scottish Premiership games last season as the club secured their third successive title, however, he struggled for game time in the second half of the campaign. He has been tipped to leave Glasgow throughout the summer transfer window and it appears his transfer exit is now about to be rubber stamped with Tavoliere revealed Belgian Pro League outfit Genk were ‘closing in’ a deal to bring the player to the Cegeka Arena. The report claims his move to Genk is now simply ‘a matter of time’, with fee has already been agreed between the two clubs and Oh set for a medical with the Belgian team. It is not yet known what fee that club will recoup for the South Korean.

Rangers loan bid 'rejected'

Philippe Clement has been dealt a blow in the transfer market after an ambitious loan bid for Europa League winner Joan Jordan was ‘rejected’ by his parent club Sevilla, according to reports. It is understood that the La Liga side were approached about a potential season-long loan agreement ahead of the current campaign as Clement looked to add some experience to his midfield. The 30-year-old has been with Los Nervionenses since 2019, playing close to 150 league games for the club in the Spanish top tier, but was limited to just eight appearances last term as the club finished 14th. According to transfer guru Fabrizio Romano, the Gers had hoped to be able to lure the player to Ibrox but the deal has been called off by Sevilla after they rejected Rangers proposal to cover a just portion of the player's wages as part of the deal. It is thought the deal could be revisited later in the window, but only if the Glasgow club agree to cover the entirety of Jordan’s wages.