Transfer window is closed... now it’s time to deliver

CRIKEY, that was exciting, wasn’t it? Short of bungee jumping into alligator infested waters while wearing a particularly pungent bacon-and-sausage onesie, it’s difficult to imagine a more adrenaline-pumping, anxiety-inducing, endorphin-releasing experience. Courtesy of a rejig to the registration calendar down south, Scotland’s transfer deadline day was presented with a rare chance to capture the attention this week. Some Scottish managers, chairmen and chief executives grabbed the opportunity. Others sat back quietly and contentedly, ignoring the panicky pull of the last-minute flop masquerading as a blockbuster. And, as sure as Sky Sports loves a

Breaking News banner, a few will have spent the final hours of the summer-long window cursing and swearing like someone who has just trodden barefoot on a piece of Lego. Following Sunday’s loss to Celtic, Rangers answered the need to do something spectacular by spending £7million to secure Ryan Kent on a four-year contract. There will be concerns, of course, over spending so much on one player. Betting the house on a wide man, just over 24 hours on from fielding a wingerless starting XI in the biggest domestic fixture of the season, will raise eyebrows. He’s not merely the most expensive player in Steven Gerrard’s squad. He’s the first real ‘wow’ signing — in terms of zeroes on the price paid — since before the wheels, brakes, bumpers and everything else came off at Ibrox in 2012. And he’s being asked to transform a team outplayed — at home, mind — by their biggest rivals just a couple of days ago. Well, if he didn’t love the pressure of being the go-to guy, the anointed saviour of a support desperate for heroes, he wouldn’t have pushed so hard for a return. So, did Rangers ‘win’ the transfer window courtesy of that late strike, then? Oh, come on, we’ve all fallen into that trap before. For all we know, some unheralded free transfer bagged in the opening days of the close-season market — or landed on a pre-contract signed last January — might turn out to be the best of the lot. Doing a late deal adds a frisson of excitement to any signing, of course. Yet Celtic fans shouldn’t need the thrill of deadline day to appreciate the recruitment of Greg Taylor. The Scot has been the obvious replacement for Kieran Tierney since, well, long before Tierney himself thought about moving on. Predictions, then. Kent will be as good as billed for Rangers, Taylor will cement his place in the Celtic first team. Hearts won’t lack for numbers. And Hibs fans will spend eternity wondering how anyone could pay Forest Green Rovers £350,000 for Chris Doidge.