Three men out as Utd wield the axe

T H E fi na l day of the tra nsfer w i ndow was one of outs at Dundee United as Robbie Neilson tri mmed the su rplus from his squad.

First to go was central defender Frederic Frans around tea-time and a short time later winger Fraser Aird joined him in having his contract terminated by mutual consent.

News then emerged from the west coast Premiership Kilmarnock were interested in a loan deal for striker Osman Sow and late last night it was confirmed the Swede was heading for Rugby Park for the rest of the season.

The 29-year-old has struggled for game time since joining up from MK Dons in January, mainly because of a recurring calf problem.

It restricted him to involvement in just 12 games last term, during which he managed a single goal.

And after the problem flared up again in pre-season, this time round he’s managed only a few minutes of action – as a very late sub in last month’s Championship win at Dunfermline.

There is a possibility Sow could be joined at Rugby Park by Frans. As news broke of his Tannadice departure, he was immediately linked with Killie.

Having become a free agent before the deadline, the Belgian is still able to sign for a new club.

Interestingly, Killie defender Kirk Broadfoot is in the same boat after leaving them yesterday.

However, despite being linked to United, along with Morton, he looks certain to head to former club St Mirren.

Having allowed both Rachid Bouhenna and Frans to go during the summer window, the Tangerines are short on cover for the central defensive area and have first choice man Mark Connolly on the injury list right now.

Aird’s departure, meanwhile, was the least surprising of the deadline day developments.

The Canadian international’s only United appearance in 2019 was in the very first outing, a draw with Partick Thistle that saw him taken off at the break.

He was very quickly loaned out to Queen of the South and, although he returned at the start of pre-season, he has not featured in any first-team squad since.

In terms of incomings, former Motherwell wideman Elliott Frear is still on the radar at Tannadice.

Osman Sow has joined Kilmarnock on loan for the rest of the season. The striker has scored one goal in his time at Tannadice, netting in the play-offs.