Celtic to reject £20m offer, Rangers eye Ajax left-back, Hibs land ex-Spurs and QPR star - Scottish transfers

The latest January transfer news and rumours around the Scottish Premiership

Scott Brown hoping to use contacts to help Ayr strengthen

Former Celtic and Scotland captain Scott Brown is hoping his contacts in the game can help him bolster the Ayr squad this month after he was appointed boss of the cinch Championship club on Wednesday. The 38-year-old returned to management with the Honest Men almost five months after being sacked by Fleetwood, with his ex-Hibs team-mate Steven Whittaker continuing as his assistant. “We’re looking to strengthen the squad,” he told Sky Sports. “Everyone’s in the same position, looking for strikers, centre-halfs and midfielders. We’ll all be fighting for the same players but hopefully with our contacts and a little favour here and there, hopefully we will manage to pull it off.”

Hibs land ex-Spurs and QPR star

Former Spurs and QPR midfielder Luke Amos has signed for Hibs. (Photo by Rob Casey / SNS Group)

Hibs have made their third January signing after securing former Tottenham midfielder Luke Amos on an 18-month contract. The 26-year-old has been without a club since leaving QPR at the end of last season and he arrived at Easter Road on trial last week. Manager Nick Montgomery is delighted to have agreed a deal with Amos until the summer of 2025. “Luke found himself not signing with anyone at the start of the season, which can happen, but he got himself back fit training with Tottenham’s Under-23s and he’s hungry to push on his career,” Montgomery told Hibs’ website. “He’s a quality midfielder with years of experience in the English Championship and at 26, he has his best years ahead of him. Hibs have already added attackers Myziane Maolida and Emiliano Marcondes on loan from Hertha Berlin and Bournemouth respectively.

Celtic to reject £20m bid

Celtic are set to turn down a loan-to-buy offer from Atletico Madrid for midfielder Matt O'Riley. News broke on Wednesday that the La Liga side had submitted a bid to take the 23-year-old on loan with an obligation to buy at the end of the season. According to The Sun, the Spaniards would pay an initial loan fee before stumping up further payments which would see the total amount rise to £20m. Reports state that Celtic are prepared to turn down the offer but are also braced for further bids before the January 31st deadline with Inter Milan and Girona also interested.

Oli Shaw ends Motherwell loan spell

Motherwell have continued to reshape their squad by ending Oli Shaw’s loan spell from Barnsley. Shaw follows Nathan McGinley out of Fir Park this week after full-back Callan Elliot and midfielder Sam Nicholson arrived. Shaw was signed on a season-long deal in August during an injury crisis up front but the former Hibernian, Ross County and Kilmarnock forward did not score in 16 appearances, all but two of which were off the bench. The 25-year-old had been missing through injury either side of the winter break and Motherwell announced that “all parties have agreed to terminate the current loan agreement, to allow Oli to return to Barnsley to continue his rehabilitation”.

Stephen Robinson reunites with James Scott at St Mirren

St Mirren boss Stephen Robinson is excited about working with James Scott again after signing the attacker on loan from Exeter until the end of the season. The Buddies manager gave the 23-year-old his senior debut while he was in charge at Motherwell in 2018 before the forward went on to earn a move to Hull in January 2020. Robinson is delighted to be reunited with Scott after he moved back to Scotland for the remainder of the campaign. “James is a player I worked with at Motherwell and we sold him for a substantial fee so that tells you the kind of quality he has,” the Northern Irishman told Saints’ website. “He had an injury when he first went to Hull that kind of scuppered his chances of success there. Sometimes you need picked back up and I believe I can do that with James. “He has a lot of talent. He can play anywhere across the front three so he fits in to our system and our squad. He’s someone I’m really looking forward to working with again."

Rangers eye Ajax left-back

Rangers have been linked with a move for Ajax left-back Anass Salah-Eddine. The Netherlands Under 21 international has only made 10 first-team appearances for the Amsterdam giants and is available for loan. According to transfer expert Fabrizio Romano, Rangers are one of the clubs showing an interest in the player with Serie A side Torino also mentioned. Romano posted on X that the race for the player is "open" but added that "nothing has been agreed so far".