Richard Gordon's Blog

Richard Gordon looks at the business done by Premiership clubs during a busy January transfer window in his latest blog for the SPFL website.

After years of relative inactivity, particularly during the January version, the recent transfer window really did ‘slam shut’ rather than simply glide slowly back into place.

Not since the very early days of Vladimir Romanov at Hearts – one year I seem to recall him bringing in around a dozen players on the final day or two – has Scottish football witnessed such frenzied activity, nor seen significant money spent on transfer fees by any club other than Celtic or Rangers.

The Parkhead side were heavily involved, of course, securing Gary MacKay-Steven now rather than in the summer, and also investing in Stuart Armstrong - one of our game’s brightest talents, and a player who will surely make a huge impact with Ronny Deila’s team.

I wonder whether Celtic would have splashed out as they did had the title race not been so much closer than in recent seasons.

By bringing in the Tannadice duo, Celtic have not only strengthened their own squad, but seriously weakened Dundee United’s and, with Caley Thistle losing their top scorer, Billy McKay, two of the contenders have emerged damaged from this window.

The one club among the chasing pack to have reinforced their challenge are Aberdeen.

The move for Kenny McLean was prompted by their League Cup semi-final exit and a determination from within the club not to allow a promising season to peter out over the closing months.

Paying the kind of money they did – it’s a decade since the Dons last sanctioned any kind of eye-opening transfer fee – was a clear statement of intent, and a strong indication that the current board of directors share the ambitions of their manager, Derek McInnes.

Rather than wallow in despair, they decided to invest in the future, and if they finish second, or indeed go on to take the title itself, the cash splashed out on Kenny will be pretty irrelevant.

Saints fans were naturally disappointed in seeing their hero leave, and I saw much discussion about the size of the fee in relation to the money spent on Stuart Armstrong.

It is all determined by market forces and, although Aberdeen do look to have got a very good deal, the kind of money on offer would have been very difficult for St Mirren to turn down, particularly as there were no other similar bids on the table.

Most of the other Premiership clubs dealt in the usual January stock in trade - loan deals, pre-contracts, or short-term signings until the summer - and it will be interesting to see which of those make the biggest impact, particularly down in the relegation zone.

Indeed, it could be that the last few days of the window will have been the most significant of the season down there.

St Mirren will feel the loss of McLean, but James Dayton looks a positive capture and has already shown his worth. Motherwell, under new ownership, brought four new faces in on deadline day, while Ross County also experienced a fair turnover.

Other than the occasional out-of-contract player, that’s it for all three and the battle lines have been drawn… the next few months now promise to be both dramatic, and next to impossible to predict.

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