Rangers tease further deal, Celtic move set to collapse, Hearts 'bet' on star - Scottish transfer news
All the latest transfer news on Scottish deadline day
The transfer window slams shut for Scottish clubs at 5pm today, bringing to an end months of speculation.
Celtic have been very active over the past 24 hours and we are expecting more activity at Rangers. Hearts and Hibs may do business before tonight’s Edinburgh derby - and there’s much more.
Here’s the latest transfer update across Scottish football:
Celtic go on spree but midfielder unlikely
Celtic have added six new players to their squad over the past 48 hours - but one key deal could be off.
Goalkeeper Sam Johnstone, defenders Jordan Lotomba and Landon Emenalo, midfielders Oliver Sorensen and Joel van den Berg plus striker Shim Mheuka have all come in as Martin O’Neill bolstered his squad.
However, it is looking increasingly likely that Torino midfielder Gvidas Gineitis is set to stay with the Serie A club after negotiations stalled.
A £9 million deal had been in the pipeline but now that the Europa League squad deadline has passed, Gineitis’ move may have to wait until January.
Rangers to announce Kelsy
Rangers are expected to announce the signing of Kevin Kelsy from Portland Timbers today in a deal worth over £9m.
Reports in the USA claim that a delay was caused over bonus payments, but after last night’s 2-1 win over Falkirk, manager Derek McInnes confirmed he expects completion before 5pm.
The Rangers boss also teased the potential of one more deal during the transfer window.
"There’s no secret that we’ve worked hard to get Kevin here" said McInnes. "There may be one other little thing that we’ll still pick up on when I come off the coach tonight and speak to Jim [Gillespie, CEO], potentially.”
Raskin expected to stay
Rangers now anticipate Nicolas Raskin being in their squad until at least January after Turkish side Besiktas failed with a bid for the Belgian midfielder.
Raskin was reinstated to the Rangers starting XI against Falkirk and McInnes does not envisage any further movement for him - although Thelo Aasgaard has joined Anderlecht on loan.
Asked if he expects Raskin to stay, McInnes responded: "Yeah, I think he will. I can’t say for certain - I'm not in control of that.
“Obviously Nico’s had an opportunity to go today, and it wasn’t something he wanted or the club. It was hardly the ideal preparation.”
Gray relaxed over Hibs
Hibs boss David Gray is unfazed by the prospect of the Scottish transfer window closing just hours before his side kick off the first Edinburgh derby of the season at home to Hearts.
The Hibees boss has already had to replenish his defence ahead of the showdown with the Jambos, with 24-year-old Serbia international Marko Ivezic arriving on a three-year deal from German side Holstein Kiel after influential centre-back Warren O’Hora was sold to Leicester.
“Well, as long as you don’t lose five or six of your starting 11, that would cause you a bit of a problem at five o’clock!” he smiled. “But all the work that goes on in the background, the structure that’s in place in terms of the recruitment department, their hard work happens every day, all year round to be ready for this. My full focus will be on the game and it is fully on the game just now.
“When there’s conversations that need to be had, we’ll certainly have them, but nothing will be distracting me from the game. It’s not a case of ‘we definitely do this or that’ but we are still looking. It’s not as if we just say ‘we’re happy, the shop’s shut’. You always need to be ready to react because you never know what might become available. But if the window shut right this second, I’d be really pleased with where we are.”
Hearts boss on Braga
Wouter Vrancken has told Claudio Braga he can benefit from remaining at Hearts in the increasingly likely event that no move materialises for the Portuguese forward in the current window.
Braga was widely expected to be sold this summer after scooping every Scottish Premiership player of the year award last season as the Jambos fell agonisingly short in their quest for title glory under Derek McInnes. But current boss Vrancken expects the 26-year-old to remain at Tynecastle for the first half of the season at least, with several of Europe’s main transfer deadlines having now passed.
“For me, he is now here, he is fully focused here, he is fully committed here,” the Belgian said. “I think he will be here, I’ll bet on this. You never know, but let’s hope that we can keep him because he is a lot of value to the team.
“He is important because of his quality. He is also a guy who is coachable and who thinks about the team, this is also very important. It’s not him who is the most important, it’s the team who is the most important. That’s for me an extra reason to want to keep him. I hope we can keep him for sure for another six months.”
Hamilton in demand
Dundee manager Steven Pressley has acknowledged there has been interest in skipper Ethan Hamilton with the midfielder understood to be on the radar of several clubs including Aberdeen but the head coach insisted he is going nowhere.
Pressley confirmed the interest in Hamilton after last night’s 1-1 draw with St Johnstone, saying: “Yes, there has been. There’s been interest in a number of our players.
“You just can’t replace a player of his quality and style. So, we turned that down.
“There’s other interest in other players, but at this moment in time we have no intention of selling.”
Comments
Want to join the conversation? Please or to comment on this article.