SPL Transfer Window Round Up

A number of sides in the SPL have had to cope with the loss of key players this season and may still be considered to be in transition as new signings and younger players try to settle in. Following the shutting of the transfer window, we will have a look at who has left and who has been brought in and how this will affect their respective teams. Who has recruited well and who looks ill equipped to cope with the demands of the 
league this season?

Aberdeen
IN: Kari Arnason; Jason Brown; Mohamed Chalali; Chris Clark; David Gonzalez (loan); Youl Mawene; Isaac Osbourne

OUT: Sone Aluko; Myles Anderson; Nick Blackman (end of loan); Zander Diamond; Paul Hartley; Mark Howard; Nicky Low (loan); Chris Maguire; David McNamee; Michael Paton (loan); Joe Shaughnessy (loan); Steven Smith; Nikola Vujadinovic (end of loan); Derek Young

Aberdeen have signed players that few in Scotland will know much about. They will have to settle in and prove themselves quickly in order to please the Dons support. David Gonzalez may prove to be a good loan signing as cover, or a possible replacement, for Jamie Langfield and Youl Mawene looks to be a big strong player so defensively Aberdeen could be solid. However they will miss the creativity of the likes of Sone Aluko and the talented Chris Maguire so may struggle for goals this season. Michael Paton will hope a loan spell at Stockport leads to more starting opportunities in order for him to reach his potential.

Celtic
IN: Mohamed Bangura; Badr El Kaddouri (loan); Fraser Forster (loan); Adam Matthews; Victor Wanyama; Kelvin Wilson

OUT: Graham Carey; Ryan Conroy; Sean Fitzharris; Jos Hooiveld (loan); Ben Hutchinson; Efrain Juarez (loan); Fredrik Ljunberg; Shaun Maloney; Niall McGinn (loan); Paul McGowan; Daryl Murphy (loan); Darren O’Dea (loan); Josh Thompson (loan); Richie Towell (loan)

Celtic seemed short of options up front so the signing of Bangura, who is fast and powerful with a good scoring record, may prove an important one. However he seems a similar type of player to Gary Hooper and Anthony Stokes so doesn’t offer much in the way of different options. Kelvin Wilson looks to have settled in well and El Kaddouri will provide cover at left back until the return of the injured Izaguirre in January. Young Adam Matthews looks like a good acquisition. He was reportedly courted by Manchester United and Arsenal before signing for Celtic and should develop well under Neil Lennon. Lennon will hope that the likes of Juarez, McGinn, Thompson and Towell will benefit from their loan spells and force themselves into his reckoning on their return. Celtic have also lost Shaun Maloney to Wigan and may miss his creativity from the bench. Georgios Samaras was linked with a move away from Celtic Park but Celtic were holding out for a larger sum and he will now remain until January at least, much to the displeasure of a number of Celtic fans.

Dundee United

IN: Lauri Dalla Valle (loan); Willo Flood; Gavin Gunning; Gary Mackay-Stevens; Keanu Marsh-Brown (loan); John Rankin

OUT: Prince Buaben; Craig Conway; Darren Dods; Morgaro Gomis; David Goodwillie; Ross McCord; Ryan McCord; David Robertson; Andis Shala

Dundee United have had to cope with the loss of a number of key players this season. The loss of Buaben, Gomis, Conway and Goodwillie will have a major impact on the team. Willo Flood had a successful couple of loan spells and will hope to emulate these now that he is back and John Rankin has SPL experience and is technically a good player. These two may step in to the void left by Buaben and Gomis in the centre of the park. Gunning performed well on loan at Motherwell last season and will continue to develop as a player. Supporters will hope that loan signings Dalla Valle and Marsh-Brown will be able to provide goals to fire the Arabs to a top four finish.

Dunfermline

IN: Andrew Barrowman; Paul Burns; Patrick Boyle; Craig Easton; Paul Gallacher; John Potter; Kevin Rutkiewicz; Jason Thomson (loan)

OUT: Graham Bayne; Alex Burke; Chris Higgins; Jake Hyde; Neil McGregor; Greg Paterson; Calum Woods

Dunfermline have brought in experienced players in John Potter, Kevin Rutkiewicz and Paul Gallacher, and these players could be crucial in the Pars maintaining their premier league status. Andrew Barrowman will hope to bring the sort of form and goals he showed during his time at Ross County but may struggle in the country’s top division. Likewise, Patrick Boyle and Paul Burns have made the step up from the first division and may take some time to adapt to the demands of the SPL.

Hearts

IN: Danny Grainger; Jamie Hamill; John Sutton; Mehdi Taouil; Callum Tapping

OUT: Ismael Bouzid; Dawid Kucharski; Jamie Mole; Ruben Palazuelos; Mark Ridgers (loan); Craig Thomson (loan); Jason Thomson (loan); Lee Wallace

Hamill and Sutton are established SPL players and will improve an already good side. Mehdi Taouil however can be a bit hit or miss, he is capable of great skill but at times his work rate is lacking. Callum Tapping, who has been capped at under-19 level for Scotland, will join the youth squad and looks to be a player for the future. The loss of Lee Wallace is a bit of a blow as he is a talented player, but Hearts got a great price at £1.5m for him. Danny Grainger should be a decent replacement.

Hibernian

IN: Junior Agogo; Phil Airey (loan); Leigh Griffiths (loan); Adam Mitter; Garry O’Connor; Sean O’Hanlon; Isaiah Osbourne; Ivan Sproule; Richie Towell (loan)

OUT: Kurtis Byrne; David Crawford (loan); Francis Dickoh; Darryl Duffy (end of loan); Edwin de Graaf; Kevin McBride; Kevin McCann; Liam Miller; Colin Nish; John Rankin; Derek Riordan; Scott Smith (loan); Steven Thicot; Valdas Trakys; Ricardo Vaz Te

Hibs have lost some good players in Miller, Rankin and Riordan and look as if they may struggle again this season. The departure of Colin Nish is less of a blow, although he is 10^th in the all-time leading scorer charts in the SPL. Junior Agogo is an experienced player and if Calderwood can get them playing well together the combination of Griffiths, O’Connor and Sproule could provide goals. Sean O’Hanlon and Richie Towell will hope to form a good defensive line along with Paul Hanlon and Callum Booth as Hibs haven’t started the season well defensively.

Inverness Caledonian Thistle

IN: Aiden Chippendale (loan); David Davis (loan); Aaron Doran; Roman Golobart (loan); Billy McKay; Josh Meekings; Thomas Piermayr; Andrew Shinnie; Gregory Tade; Greg Tansey; Owain Tudor Jones

OUT: Gil Blumenshtein; Russell Duncan; Stuart Golabek; Chris Innes; Roy McBain; Grant Munro; Eric Odihambo; Adam Rooney; Dani Sanchez

Losing Adam Rooney is a massive blow to Inverness and they will miss his goals this season. Gregory Tade will have to quickly step up to fill Rooney’s boots and Terry Butcher will look to other players to provide goals as well. Greg Tansey looks a decent acquisition and can contribute goals from midfield, he has scored two in three games already. David Davis and Roman Golobart come from English premier league sides and could add quality, as might Aaron Doran who joins following a successful loan spell last season. Andrew Shinnie, signed from Rangers, will get more starting opportunities and may develop into a good player.

Kilmarnock

IN: Patrick Ada; Danny Buijs; Jorge Galan (loan); Gary Harkins; Paul Heffernan; Ben Hutchinson; Zdenek Kroca; Rory McKeown; Leon Panikvar; Daniel Racchi; Dean Shiels; Mohamadou Sissoko (loan); Jonathan Stynes; Jude Winchester

OUT: Kieran Agard (end of loan); Craig Bryson; Tim Clancy; Alexei Eremenko (end of loan); Jamie Hamill; Rui Miguel; Mehdi Taouil; Frazer Wright

There are a number of new faces at Rugby Park this season and it remains to be seen if they can match the impressive performances of last season. Killie have struggled for goals since the departure of Conor Sammon in January and will hope that Hutchinson and Heffernan can contribute. Killie have also lost a lot of creativity from the likes of Jamie Hamill, Craig Bryson, Mehdi Taouil and, of course, Alexei Eremenko. Jorge Galan, on loan from Osasuna, and Dean Shiels may be able to provide a bit of flair, but don’t look as good as the players they have replaced. Following Wright and Clancy’s moves to St Johnstone and Motherwell respectively, Kilmarnock look short at the back although Kroca looks to be a big solid centre half and many fans will be pleased to see the return of Sissoko on loan from Udinese. Ada and Buijs appear to be getting to grips with the SPL and reports suggest that Ada may leave, just over a month after joining, as he is not suited to Kilmarnock’s style of play. Stynes and Winchester appear to be signings for the future and possibly won’t feature much for the first team this season. Kilmarnock reportedly have at least one player, Mark de Man, on trial and may sign him in the next few days.

Motherwell

IN: Tim Clancy; Omar Daley; Nicky Devlin; Michael Higdon; Nicky Law

OUT: Esteban Casagolda; Angelis Charalambous; Gavin Gunning (end of loan); Steven Howarth (loan); Francis Jeffers; Steve Jones; Ross McKinnon (loan); Maurice Ross; John Sutton

Tim Clancy is a versatile player and can play anywhere along the back line so should provide good depth to Stuart McCall’s side. Michael Higdon has a big task ahead of him to fill John Sutton’s boots, but he is a good player with a good scoring record from last season. Motherwell had hoped to re-sign Gavin Gunning but he opted to join Dundee United. Nicky Law has started his Motherwell career in excellent fashion and may prove to be a great signing. Nicky Devlin appears to be have been signed with the future in mind, although Motherwell are a club with a reputation for giving younger players first team opportunities.

Rangers

IN: Kyle Bartley (loan); Alejandro Bedoya; Carlos Bocanegra; Dorin Goian; Matt McKay; Juan Manuel Ortiz; Lee Wallace

OUT: James Beattie; Madjid Bougherra; Archie Campbell; El-Hadji Diouf (end of loan); John Fleck (loan); Richard Foster (end of loan); Kyle Hutton (loan); Andrew Little (loan); Vladimir Weiss (end of loan)

Rangers perhaps haven’t made the sort of signings the fans would have expected following reports that Craig Whyte would be providing a high degree of transfer funds. Lee Wallace is a good young Scottish player but Rangers perhaps paid over the odds at £1.5m for him. Goian and Bocanegra bring with them a lot of experience but Ortiz is yet to impress the Rangers support. Kyle Bartley provides decent cover as he can play in defence and midfield, but still seems to be learning the game and at times can be a little petulant. Looking at the signings it would appear that Rangers have bought what some would call squad players, and not the kind of players who can make an impact on the first choice eleven. Hutton and Little will benefit from their loan experiences as will John Fleck, who was tipped for stardom but never made a great impact. Hopefully a good loan spell will get his development back on track. Holding on to Nikica Jelavic and Steven Davis will please the fans, but not the bank. Reports suggest Rangers rejected a last minute £9m bid for Jelavic from an unnamed English premier league side. The degree of truth in these reports however remains to be seen as, financially, Rangers are not in a position that they could turn this kind of money down.

St Johnstone

IN: Callum Davidson; Carl Finnigan; Willie Gibson (loan); Marcus Haber; Sean Higgins; Alan Mannus; David McCracken; David Robertson; Francisco Sandaza; Cillian Sheridan (loan); Frazer Wright

OUT: Scott Dobie; Michael Duberry; Danny Grainger; Danny Invincibile; Andy Jackson; Jonathan Lindsay; Peter MacDonald; Steven Milne; Jordan Robertson; Kevin Rutkiewicz; Colin Samuel; Graeme Smith; Cleveland Taylor

St Johnstone appear to have done some good business in this transfer window. The only notable losses seem to be Grainger and Duberry. St Johnstone’s biggest issue last season was a lack of goals but the signing of Sandaza may solve that problem. Sheridan and Gibson are capable of contributing goals also. Frazer Wright adds solidity to their defence and along with Callum Davidson provides good experience. Carl Finnigan looked a promising player at Falkirk and is still young so may yet develop further.

St Mirren

IN: Graham Carey; Ilias Haddad; Nigel Hasselbaink; Paul McGowan; Joe McKee (loan); Graeme Smith; Gary Teale; Jeroen Tesselaar; Steven Thompson

OUT: Garry Brady; Patrick Cregg; Craig Dargo; Paul Gallacher; Michael Higdon; Dominic Kennedy (loan); Sean Lynch; Jamie McKernon (loan); Paul McQuade; John Potter; Conor Ramsay; Jure Travner; Gareth Wardlaw

The Buddies have also done well in this summer’s transfer window. Securing a permanent deal for Paul McGowan was a great piece of business as he is a talented and creative player. The addition of Teale and Thompson should also excite the fans and Nigel Hasselbaink has started the season well. However St Mirren may miss the experience that was provided by John Potter, Paul Gallacher and Michael Higdon.