The 13 Scottish Premiership stars who will make the most headlines in the summer transfer window

The stars of the Scottish top flight that clubs will be desperate to hold onto this summer despite a constant stream of speculation and intrigue.

Rangers striker Alfredo Morelos could be on the move this summer after helping his side to the Scottish Premiership title last term. Picture: SNS

Lewis Ferguson (Aberdeen)

The midfielder handed in a transfer request, which was immediately rejected, after his club knocked back a reported £2 million offer from Watford in May. Seeing as the Dons called the offer "insulting" and he still has four years left on his contract, expect Aberdeen to hold out for something around twice that much.

Whether Ferguson stays or goes may depend on how much of a fuss he wants to kick up. Rangers have been credited with an interest, but with Aberdeen likely to demand even more to offset the displeasure of selling to their biggest rivals, the Ibrox side will probably seek better value for money elsewhere. Expect a move down south if he does go.

Lewis Ferguson during Aberdeen pre-season.

Kristoffer Ajer and Odsonne Edouard (Celtic)

About half of the Celtic squad could have been listed here with OlivIer Ntcham and Boli Bolingoli also expected to depart over the summer and question marks over Ryan Christie's long-term future, but these are the two making all of the headlines at the moment.

Ajer has made it clear publicly he wants to go, while ex-boss Neil Lennon admitted last term that Edouard's head had been turned by the interest in him. It's really beginning to appear Celtic have painted themselves into a corner over Edouard and their transfer demands for a striker coming off an indifferent season with just 12 months left on his deal. It now looks a significant possibility they'll receive no offer strong enough and see him walk away for nothing next summer, especially with PSG reportedly due 50 per cent of any fee received.

As for Ajer, expect him to go somewhere like Serie A (AC Milan have long been linked) but only after Celtic's Champions League qualification campaign is complete.

St Johnstone midfielder Ali McCann.

Lawrence Shankland (Dundee United)

Transfer talk has quietened around the striker in the wake of last season, where he netted eight times in 32 games in his first campaign back in the top flight of Scottish football after tearing up the lower leagues. But Shankland is no flat-track bully. He showed with his incredible goals against St Mirren and St Johnstone the elite finishing ability he possesses, while he all-round play was better than anyone could have expected. He was just unfortunate to be on an extremely defensive-minded team who didn't play to his strengths.

Expect him to tear things up before August ends as he looks to put himself in the shop window again. And, with only one year left on his deal, United will be more willing to sell than they were a year ago. A Championship or big League One team beckons.

Martin Boyle, Kevin Nisbet and Ryan Porteous (Hibs)

Kevin Nisbet's value will have increased since playing for Scotland at the Euros.

Nisbet's inclusion in Steve Clarke's Scotland squad for the Euros was a huge boost for the Easter Road outfit and justified their decision to knock back a £3million offer for the player in January. The player's subsequent goal against the Netherlands and appearance as a substitute in each of the Euro 2020 group matches should add further value to his fee. With still three years remaining on his deal, there's no rush for Hibs to sell, but the player stated his desire to leave when Birmingham City made their bid and the club's hierarchy may decide it's the optimum time to sell if they can get an acceptable offer.

Unfortunately, there's a good chance they may not received anywhere near as much for Martin Boyle, who has a £500k release clause in his contract. The positive is that it reportedly applies to foreign sides only, so if he remains in Scotland (with Celtic – who are also chasing Nisbet – continuously linked) he they would still net around £3 million if sold this summer.

As for Porteous, his whereabouts after the window closes will depend on two things: how much potential Hibs think the player has, and how desperate he is to go if given the chance. Hibs received a £1m offer from Millwall in January for a defender who, as talented as he is, still has a tendency to make some blatant errors which lead to goals. However, if he could cut those out next term he'd be easily worth three times as much.

Glen Kamara and Alfredo Morelos (Rangers)

Talk continues to rumble on regarding Morelos and a potential move to Porto, which would make perfect sense given his performances against both them and Portuguese rivals Benfica in the Europa League in each of the last two seasons. Rangers have made it known they'll be looking to recoup some income from selling players this coming season and, having been constantly linked with moves away from Ibrox, while making it no secret he sees the club as a stepping-stone to a more prestigious league, Morelos is the most likely candidate.

There is also serious interest in Kamara, who impressed in the Euros despite Finland going out in the group stages. The midfielder has been a major asset to Steven Gerrard's system and success on the European stage, and it's no surprise he's attracting interest from both the EPL and clubs across the continent.

Jason Kerr, Ali McCann and Shaun Rooney (St Johnstone)

Unfortunately for clubs in Scotland, especially those outside of Glasgow, there is no happily ever after. St Johnstone fans will dine out on the incredible success of last season for the rest of their days, but there may be some short-term pain on the horizon with the two cup final victories putting a number of their best players on the radar of bigger clubs with deeper pockets.

Kerr was linked with Hibs, but it now appears more likely he’ll be heading south with the Easter Road club turning their attentions instead to fellow McDiarmid centre-back Jamie McCart. Each player only has a year left on his deal and could go for as little as a few hundred thousand.

Going for significantly more this window, should he leave, will be McCann. The short-sightedness of other Scottish clubs during McCann's breakthrough season allowed Saints to sign him to a long-term deal with little fuss and they should reap the benefits with a demand of seven figures for the impressive midfielder. Celtic are said to be keen, along with a few clubs down south.

Meanwhile, there has already been a £200k offer from Rotherham United for Shaun Rooney. The club will obviously want more for the match-winner in two cup finals, but, again, with one year left on his deal it won't be anywhere close to his true value.

Jamie McGrath (St Mirren)

The Buddies have stated that "a huge sum of money" would be required to prize last season's star player away from Paisley, though seeing as he's another entering the final year of his contract, and attempts to get him to sign a new one have so far fallen short, that doesn't appear all that likely. Both Aberdeen and Celtic have been linked in the past.

The silver lining for Buddies fans is that the club have made a point of being more ambitious when it comes to player squad and spending, so we could see them refusing to sell the player below a certain figure and stubbornly hold onto him for the duration of the next campaign.

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