Celtic and Rangers target attacking reinforcements on deadline day
Rangers are expected to complete the deadline-day signing of Colombian winger Oscar Cortes on loan from Lens as they strive to bolster their attack for a cinch Premiership title assault.
The 20-year-old – who made his international debut last year – arrived in Glasgow to seal a deal until the end of the season, with the Ibrox club having an option to buy at the end of the campaign.
However, the Ibrox club – five points behind with a game in hand – look to have been thwarted in their bid to land Brazilian left-back Jefte from Fluminense.
The Gers hoped to recruit the 20-year-old immediately, but he is currently on loan with APOEL Nicosia and the Cypriot club are reportedly intent on keeping him until the end of the campaign, so his proposed move to Scotland will have to wait until the summer.
The forward has won three senior international caps and is set to add to Brendan Rodgers’ options in the attacking department following the arrival of German winger Nicolas Kuhn from Rapid Vienna earlier in the window.
The Celtic boss is also keen to add a left-back as Greg Taylor is facing a spell on the sidelines, with 31-year-old Paris St Germain player Layvin Kurzawa mooted as a possibility.
Hearts forward Lawrence Shankland has been the subject of intense speculation in recent months, but the Jambos go into the final day of the window without any notable approaches having been made for their top scorer.
The Edinburgh club have already bolstered their squad with the loan additions of Dexter Lembikisa and Scott Fraser, but it looks unlikely that they will secure Yan Dhanda before the deadline after the Ross County playmaker agreed a pre-contract to move to Tynecastle in the summer.
Motherwell replenished their attack by signing 22-year-old Welsh forward Jack Vale on loan from Blackburn on Wednesday, while relegation rivals St Johnstone are hoping to land 25-year-old striker Adama Sidibeh from English non-league side Warrington Rylands.
It remains to be seen how the sacking of manager Barry Robson on Wednesday impacts Aberdeen’s deadline-day plans, although they may feel compelled to add a centre-back after Slobodan Rubezic suffered a knee injury.
Livingston boss David Martindale hopes to sign a new centre-back as well as Inverness midfielder David Carson, while Hibernian are another club in the market for a central defender.
Kilmarnock manager Derek McInnes said on Wednesday “we may still look to add one if we can”, while his St Mirren counterpart Stephen Robinson is happy with the make-up of his squad and was not planning for much deadline-day business.