Top talent well is set to dry up

no Virgil deals

Scottish clubs will soon be barred from hoovering up some of Europe’s top young talents under rules set to come into force after Brexit.

The Home Office is almost cer tain to issue much stricter guidelines when it comes to allowing foreign stars to work in the UK.

But the SPFL are trying to persuade Westminster to have a sliding scale when it comes to deciding who is allowed to play here in a bid to have the bar lowered for Premiership clubs.

Celtic cashed in on Virgil

Van Dijk after snapping him up f rom Dutch club Groningen while Rangers have signed the likes of Borna Barisic, Ianis Hagi, and Cedric Itten.

But Old Firm fans can now forget about seeing anyone like them arriving after the January window closes.

The Glasgow giants will have their last chance to find the next Van Dijk or Barisic next month before Brexit makes it impossible for any club to sign young stars from EU countries who can then be sold on at a profit.

League secretary Iain Blair said: “It’s going to make it diff icult to f ind young players who are potential stars, bring them in and develop them before selling them on for a small fortune.

“That element is going to be much more challenging.

“That’s obviously not good news but it’s very important t o emph a s i s e that discussions have not yet been concluded. The Home Office accept that Scotland is a dif ferent animal in football terms to England, Northern Ireland and Wales and no binding decision has been made at the moment.”