All the comings and goings as Scottish clubs sought to hold on to best talents
Mercifully, the January transfer window and its faux excitement has disappeared from sight for another year. The end of the month has been greeted excitedly at Herald towers, and not just because it signals the end of ‘Dryanuary.’
The winter window of opportunity here has always been far removed from the Sky Sports-inspired celebration of the grotesque south of the border, with loan signings from the lower reaches of the English leagues the staple diet for many of our cashstrapped clubs.
Indeed, even for the bigger fish in our own little pond, January is just as much – if not more so – about hanging on to the talent already here.
There was, however, some genuinely intriguing business done, and here HeraldSport takes a look under the bonnet of our Premiership squads after the re-tuning of the last month, and examines whether the re-calibration will result in a turbocharged end to the season, or a spluttering car wreck of a finale. There was only one new arrival at Pittodrie, but it was a decent one in Celtic’s Ryan Christie. It will be hoped that the 21-year-old can replace the creative spark of James Maddison, who returned to Norwich City.
The other departures were unlikely to trouble the starting eleven, so it’s effectively as you were for the Dons. The arrival of Eboue Kouassi for the not inconsiderable sum of £2.8 million has been overshadowed by the circus surrounding Dembele and Craig Gordon, with both linked with big moves to Chelsea’s bench. At least initially, in Dembele’s case.
The fact that they remain at Celtic Park will please supporters, as, rather cruelly perhaps, will the departure of Efe Ambrose.
Young players have been sent out to gain experience and, with Kouassi coming in to get familiar with his surroundings ahead of the assault on the Champions League, it has been a good window for Brendan Rodgers. Paul Hartley will be hoping that the Henrik Ojamaa of his first spell at Motherwell will be the one who turns up at Dens Park rather than the less impressive version of his loan spell back at Fir Park two years ago.
They could do with a spark, and heaven knows Yordi Teijsse couldn’t provide it, as he departs for the fourth tier of German football. Rory Loy went to St Mirren, so the pressure is on Ojamaa to hit the ground running along with former Ross County man Marc Klok. Debutant Blair Adams looked lively in the midweek win over Inverness, and they finally have a right-back after landing Greek under-21 international Giannis Skondras. Martin Canning is still hoping to snap up some free agents, and he could do with a striker despite Rakish Bingham’s recent upturn in form. Space constraints are the issue here, but of the multitudinous business done by Ian Cathro in his first window, the captures of Aaron Hughes and ‘Isma’ Goncalves, pictured right, catch the eye. If he can keep Isma out of the pub, he may have a player on his hands.
Alim Ozturk’s departure wasn’t as much of a shock as that of Igor Rossi, but it will be interesting to see how the Jambos cope without two previously reliable defenders. There will likely be few tears shed in Gorgie at the departures of Tony Watt and Connor Sammon. The return of Billy McKay should give fans of the bottom side hope, but his recent form has hardly been prolific. Neither has that of fellow new-boy Henri Anier. Some may question the wisdom of signing the strike force of the last team to be automatically relegated, but Richie Foran has bet his shirt on the duo. The Rugby Park dressing room this season has perpetually resembled that awkward first night in the Big Brother house when everyone is trying to figure out who the others are, so why would January be different?
Six loan arrivals and a free transfer have come in, the most eyebrowraising being the supplanting of regular saviour Jamie MacDonald by Newcastle youngster Freddie Woodman.
What that does for squad harmony remains to be seen, but with £750,000 pocketed from the sale of Souleymane Coulibaly, the mood in the boardroom is likely to be chipper. A move for Nadir Ciftci didn’t come off, but given that may have paved the way for Scott McDonald’s departure, it is doubtful whether Motherwell supporters are too upset.
The importance of McDonald and strike partner Louis Moult remaining at the club far outweighs the potential impact of arrivals Elliott Frear, Zak Jules and Russell Griffiths, although the return of Stephen Pearson should add a crucial dynamism to midfield. It’s almost as you were for Thistle, with Ziggy Gordon’s departure being compensated for by the return of Mustapha Dumbuya, and a bit of depth being added to defence through Niall Keown.
Jason Banton has arrived on loan from Crawley Town to bolster their attacking options. Mark Warburton had to box clever in the transfer market, with the only money spent going on goalkeeper Jak Alnwick for the princely sum of £250,000. With the form of Wes Foderingham, he has a job on his hands to get into the side.
Emerson Hyndman has impressed more than Jon Toral in the brief sightings of the pair so far, and his goal and performance against Motherwell had supporters purring. Will it be enough to clinch second place? If it isn’t, the board will have some awkward questions to answer. The traditional mid-season County overhaul failed to materialise, with just four arrivals and one departure from Dingwall. Jason Naismith and Jim O’Brien have been reliable performers in Scotland previously, while Milan Lalkovic caused some problems coming on against Motherwell. Perhaps unsurprisingly, Scottish football’s model of consistency made no signings, and no-one left either. As you were.