IT’s the day many fans have been dreading.
Celtic, Rangers, Hearts, Hibs, Aberdeen and the rest of Scottish football have until 11pm to get their transfer business done.
After a thrilling 15 WEEKS with plenty of blockbuster deals in the Premiership, the transfer window is almost officially closed.
The summer window opened on June 16 and since then we have seen Russell Martin take over at Rangers and rebuild the Ibrox squad with 11 new signings and several more heading out.
It’s not gone to plan for him so far in Glasgow, but he remains in the hot-seat for now with the full backing of Rangers chiefs.
Meanwhile, it’s been a frustrating few weeks for Brendan Rodgers in the other side of the city.
read more football stories
The Celtic boss has snapped up nine new players but he also watched star man Nicolas Kuhn head for the exit door.
He’s still eyeing a couple of late deals before tonight’s deadline and could see another couple of first team stars head out too, with Adam Idah and Yang Hyun-Jun nearing exits.
Elsewhere in the Scottish top flight, both Hibs AND Hearts have broken their transfer records to sign Thibault Klidje and Brazilian midfielder Ageu respectively.
Aberdeen have also spent big money under Jimmy Thelin again, while Dundee United and Motherwell both have new-look squads under Jim Goodwin and Jens Berthel Askou as well.
It’s set to be a busy few hours before the window closes tonight and SunSport will keep you updated right through until 11pm and beyond that.
Backed into a Corn-er
Rangers target Derek Cornelius also played a significant role for Marseille yesterday despite being on the cusp of a move to Ibrox.
The left-sided defender came on in the 34th minute against Lyon when boss Roberto De Zerbi was forced to shuffle the pack after ex-Hibs defender CJ Egan-Riley was sent off on the half hour mark.
Marseille would go on to lose the game 1-0.
State of play
Two of Celtic’s top targets BOTH played yesterday for their current clubs.
And one of them even scored in what may or may not be his swansong.
Sebastian Tounekti played 87 minutes and scored a penalty for Hammarby but said after the game that he thinks the Hoops will go “all the way” in trying to sign him.
And big-money striker Kasper Dolberg came on as a sub for the final 20 minutes of Anderlecht’s 2-0 defeat to Union Saint-Gilloise.
Anderlecht boss Besnik Hasi denied that Dolberg was left on the bench due to a potential transfer to Celtic.
Dessers on the move
Cyriel Dessers looks set to complete his Rangers exit before the end of the day.
The Nigerian striker is expected to swap Glasgow for Athens after being the subject of interest from TWO Greek clubs in recent weeks.
Cyriel Dessers is set to wave goodbye to Rangers fans
AEK Athens and Panathinaikos have been battling it out for his signature.
But according to reports in Greece last night, Panathainikos have WON the race and have reportedly convinced the player to leave Scotland.
It’s believed the striker will seal a £5million transfer in the coming hours after travelling to Greece to finalise the move.
And Rangers are closing in on a big-money deal to replace the hitman.
Expected to take his place at Ibrox is Everton frontman Youssef Chermiti with an £8m deal close to being finalised.
Nico Raskin latest
Rangers could lose Nico Raskin before the window slams shut.
The Belgian midfielder’s future in Glasgow is up in the air after he was booted out of Russell Martin’s squad for Sunday’s Old Firm.
SunSport were first to reveal the midfielder would be axed for the game and since then at least two clubs have stepped up their interest with a potential cut-price deal on the cards.
Wolves and Real Betis have been tracking the player all summer and could make a late move to snap him up, but Rangers are yet to receive an official bid.
Old Firm battle
Celtic and Rangers are set to fight it out to land Crystal Palace winger Jesurun Rak-Sakyi before tonight’s 11pm deadline.
Russel Martin tried to sign the wide-man earlier in the window but instead opted for other targets, with Djeidi Gassama, Oliver Antman and Mikey Moore snapped up.
Celtic, however, are exploring a late swoop for the 22-year-old as a replacement for outgoing winger Yang Hyun-Jun.
Yang is closing in on a £3million move to Birmingham, leaving Rodgers in need of a replacement.
SunSport understands the Hoops have sounded out Crystal Palace over a potential loan deal.
Happy deadline day!
Hello and welcome to SunSport’s LIVE coverage of deadline day.
The end of the transfer window is finally upon us with just hours left for Scottish clubs to get their business done.
Both Celtic and Rangers are chasing late deals as Brendan Rodgers and Russell Martin hope to get new bodies in to replace star men heading out.
The two Old Firm clubs could both see top players head for the exit door in the coming hours, with Adam Idah set to leave Celtic and Nico Raskin in line to seal his Rangers exit.
But they won’t be alone as clubs up and down the country will be looking to get some late business over the line.
Could we see some surprise deals get completed before 11pm tonight?
Stay with SunSport’s LIVE blog to find out.
