Hearts loan star could make England move, Hibs starlet can be Scotland's best

The latest transfer speculation from Hearts and Hibs as the January transfer window reaches its final weeks.

Former Hearts loan signing Alex Lowry could make a move to England - according to former Hibs and St Mirren star Stephen McGinn.

The Scotland Under-21 international spent the first half of the season at Tynecastle and scored two goals and provided five assists in 18 appearances in all competitions before returning to Ibrox earlier this month.

Securing a place in the Rangers senior setup is not believed to be a realistic possibility for Lowry at this point in time and there have been suggestions the 20-year-old could be handed a second loan move of the season before the end of the January transfer window.  However, former Hibs midfielder Stephen McGinn believes the youngster could be heading south of the border as he looks to take the next step in what is viewed as a promising career.

Speaking on The Go Radio Football Show, he said: “I think he might head to the lower leagues in England. I just think for his Rangers career, for him to have a long-term future and in the next few years to go and play for Rangers.

“There were some good bits to his loan, some good performances, maybe some not-so-good performances. But if you’re inconsistent at Hearts, no disrespect to Hearts, going up the levels to be consistent for Rangers, he’s still a bit short for that.

“I think he might be heading to England, we’ve seen some success from some of the other young Celtic and Rangers players that have headed down and got moves, guys like Luca Connell at Barnsley.  That’s where I expect him to end up.”

Hibs youngster tipped to become Scotland’s best

Airdrie manager Rhys McCabe has made a bold claim over Hibs prospect Kanayo Megwa as the right-back returns to Easter Road following a loan spell with the Championship club.

Hibs' Kanayo Megwa in action for Airdrie during his recent loan spell at the Championship club. Photo by Ewan Bootman / SNS Group

The 19-year-old made 14 appearances during the opening half of the season to help McCabe’s side move into the top four of Scottish football’s second tier.  However, he will now hope to force his way into Nick Montgomery’s plans after making his final appearance for Airdrie in a 1-0 home win against Raith Rovers earlier this month. After being recalled by Hibs, Megwa can go on to achieve great things with his parent club according to McCabe, who believes the youngster has everything it takes to become Scotland’s best right-back.

He said: "He has got a really good chance of becoming a top player, if not the best right-back in Scotland.

"I know that is a big statement but I truly believe that.  I think he has great attributes, in terms of his one-on-one defending, his athleticism. He is so comfortable that he can play left-back or right-back.  We've spoken about areas where we think he can improve and we've seen him develop and grow in confidence. I just really hope he goes back to Hibs and gets a real opportunity because it would be a real shame to waste all the good work that he built up here and then go back and sit in the reserves or not get a fair crack at it.”