Transfer deadline day: Memorable moves with window set to close

Transfer deadline day always brings excitement and drama for football supporters.

Depending on the moves made, it could either bolster or hinder the fortunes of a club’s season.

A number of high profile names have made the move to Scottish football over the years with the clock ticking down on the January window.

Here, STV News looks back at some of the most notable signings during on deadline day in January.

Celtic – Robbie Keane

Fans gathered outside Celtic Park after Keane was unveiled. (SNS Group) SNS Group

A blockbuster signing, the Tottenham striker signed for Celtic in the final hours of the January transfer window in 2010.

An established player in the English Premier League, having also played for Inter Milan, Keane was sent to Glasgow by the London club on a six-month loan deal.

Much was expected of the Republic of Ireland international, who had signed for Liverpool for around £20m just two years previously.

At 29-years-old, the striker was also still in his prime as a player, making 25 appearances at White Hart Lane in the first half of the 2009/2010 season.

Fans gathered at Celtic Park late into the night as Keane was finally unveiled after a day of speculation.

Keane, a Celtic supporter, made an impression at Parkhead as he hit 12 goals in 16 games in the league and scooped the club’s player of the year award, before heading back to Tottenham at the end of the season.

Rangers – El Hadji Diouf

Scott Brown celebrated in front of El Hadji Diouf during an Old Firm clash. (SNS Group) SNS Group

Rangers sealed a loan move in 2011 for the controversial attacking player from Blackburn.

The Senegal striker had been deemed surplus to requirements at the Lancashire club, having been accused of taunting Queens Park Rangers player Jamie Mackie as he was receiving treatment for an injury during a game.

He had already courted controversy in Glasgow previously after spitting at Celtic supporters during a UEFA Cup match with Liverpool in 2003.

Diouf scored two goals in 22 appearances as Rangers won the Premier League and the Scottish League Cup under Walter Smith.

Many will remember Diouf as being on the end of an infamous celebration by Scott Brown at Ibrox during an Old Firm clash in which the Celtic captain raised his arms in front of the striker.

Hearts – A full team’s worth of signings

(From left to right): Hearts manager Graham Rix with new signings - Bruno Aguiar, Mirsad Beslija, Chris Hackett, Jose Goncalves and Juho Makela. (SNS Group) — (From left to right): Hearts manager Graham Rix with new signings – Bruno Aguiar, Mirsad Beslija, Chris Hackett, Jose Goncalves and Juho Makela. (SNS Group) SNS Group

The Tynecastle side made an eye-catching 11 signings on deadline day in 2006.

Portugese duo Bruno Aguiar and Jose Goncalves joined from FBK Kaunas, Mirsad Bešlija signed from Genk, English winger Chris Hackett arrived from Oxford United, and Finnish striker Juho Makela moved from HJK Helsinki.

It was the latest additions in what had already been a busy January for Hearts.

Earlier in the window, they added right back Nerijus Barasa from Kaunas, English midfielder Lee Johnson from Yeovil Town, French goalkeeper Raïs M’Bolhi, Slovakian defender Martin Petras, and striker Luděk Stracený.

Neil McCann also made a return to Tynecastle during the window, having starred for the club in the 1990s and helping Hearts to win the Scottish Cup in 1998.

Celtic – Craig Bellamy

Celtic boss Martin O'Neill (left) unveils new signing Craig Bellamy. (SNS Group) — Celtic boss Martin O’Neill (left) unveils new signing Craig Bellamy. (SNS Group) SNS Group

The Welsh striker moved to Celtic on a loan deal until the end of the season from Newcastle United in January 2005.

He put pen to paper at Celtic Park after a bust up with Newcastle manager Graeme Souness who told Bellamy that he would never play for him again.

A player with rapid pace, Bellamy scored nine goals in 15 games, including a strike at Ibrox as the title race entered its final stages.

He lifted the Scottish Cup in his final match for Celtic, although missed out on the league title as Rangers won it on the last day of the season following Celtic’s defeat against Motherwell.

Rangers – Glen Kamara

Kamara joined Rangers from Dundee on deadline day. SNS Group

Having already signed a pre-contact, Rangers moved to snap up Kamara from Dundee for a fee of around only £50,000.

The figure has proved to be an absolute steal for the Ibrox club, with the Finnish international becoming a mainstay of the Rangers midfield.

An assured presence on the ball, Kamara has made over 100 appearances for the club, as well as playing a key role in Rangers’ title win under Steven Gerrard in the 2020/2021 season.

It looks highly likely that Rangers could make a huge profit on the midfielder in future, with Kamara having been linked with multi-million pounds moves to the English Premier League.

Rangers – Barry Ferguson

Barry Ferguson (left) celebrates with Gregory Vignal. (SNS Group) SNS Group

Scotland captain Barry Ferguson made a return to Rangers shortly before the close of the transfer window in January 2005.

The midfielder had made 153 appearances in his previous spell at the club before moving to Blackburn Rovers in 2003.

Following discussions between the clubs during the window, a deal was eventually agreed for Ferguson to go back to Ibrox for a fee of £4.5m.

Signed on the same day as goalkeeper Ronald Waterreus, Ferguson admitted that he made a mistake in leaving the club 18 months previously.

Ferguson went on to add to his trophy collection at Rangers, as well as playing in the UEFA Cup final in 2008, before departing for Birmingham City in 2009, having been stripped of the captain’s armband by Walter Smith.