Former Celtic man’s transfer twist as ‘seven-figure’ loss explained

Latest news and rumours from Scottish football after the international break and ahead of the return to club football action

It’s just one more day until Nick Montgomery undertakes his first match as the new manager of Hibs. The former A-League manager was announced as the new Hibees boss earlier this week and will travel to Kilmarnock for his first challenge.

Meanwhile, Steven Naismith will welcome Aberdeen to Tynecastle in a must-win home fixture for the Jambos. Hearts have suffered several recent losses, including a 1-0 defeat to Motherwell last time out and now must secure the vital three points if they are to fight for a place in the top half of the league for Phase Two.

While the Edinburgh clubs look to improve on their starts to the 2023/24 season, with both having changes in management, here are the latest transfer stories from their Scottish Premiership rivals.

Ex-Celtic star wished for Parkhead return

Jota would happily have returned to Celtic before the summer transfer window closed (Daily Record). Saudi clubs are only allowed to register eight foreign players in their squad each season meaning the Portuguese star could miss the cut and be without regular first-team football until the transfer business opens up again in January.

With the arrival of Luiz Felipe, the number of overseas stars are at nine and reports suggest it’s either Jota or goalkeeper Marcelo Grohe who will be dropped. Speaking to the Saudi TV program Action Ya Dawry, an Ittihad insider has said Jota would have been very keen to make a return to Parkhead on loan before the transfer window closed in Scotland. However, it now looks more likely the 24-year-old will make a move to the UAE Pro League or Turkish side Fenerbahce.

Hoops boss to focus on homegrown talent

Celtic’s Brendon Rodgers has recently named his 25-man Euro squad ahead of the Champions League campaign and, according to the UEFA homegrown rule, eight players who have either come through the academy or academies in the same league must be included.

While the Belgian side Royal Antwerp have challenged the legality of this ruling, Rodgers has said he wants his team to have a strong Scottish identity (The Scottish Sun). Speaking to the press, the Parkhead boss said: “having that identity is very important. If I worked in Spain I would want a Spanish core of players. When I work in Scotland I want a Scottish core of players who understand what it’s about.

“I think you have to look at that moving forward because some squad planning is important. It is a big quality having that Scottish mentality around - players who know what it’s about, like Callum McGregor, Greg Taylor and James Forrest. It can feel like you have your hands tied behind your back. But my focus will always personally be on the homegrown players.”

St Johnstone confirm seven-figure annual loss

St Johnstone were forced to cut their budget after posting a £1.5m loss. (Scottish Sun) The Saints chief Stan Harris insists he had no choice but to dramatically slash the budget after posting the loss. It has been revealed the club were leaking cash after pumping in investment to avoid relegation for the last two seasons and have shot the money which was banked from the sales of Ali McCann and Jason Kerr two years ago.

As a result, the new boss Steven MacLean had to make savings of around £1 million this summer in a desperate bid to balance the books. Harris, who was brought in in May, has said: “The over-budget investment in the first team did not transpire into the success the previous board expected. The financial performance necessitated having to make some heavy adjustments for season 2023/24 in terms of playing and administration resource. Basically we had to strip to rebuild.”