WITH the Scottish Premiership on hiatus until Wednesday 23 January, clubs have rightfully been focussing on player recruitment in a bid to strengthen their squads for the second half of the season. January is a crucial month for two reasons in this regard; firstly, and somewhat obviously, because the transfer window reopens and teams are free to recruit new players or sell others on.
But secondly, because January represents an important milestone in many players’ contracts. If a player’s contract is up in the summer, then as of January, other clubs are free to speak to them about a potential move in six month’s time, often with no compensation fee to fork out. Bargains can be sought if the right player is targeted at the right time.
Rangers have already proven this in the last fortnight, signing Dundee’s Glen Kamara and Kilmarnock’s Jordan Jones on pre-contracts, meaning that they’ll move to Ibrox for free in the summer. This looks to be a great bit of business from Rangers, which begs the question: how many other bargains are there to be found out there?
Below, we’ve made up a possible starting XI of Premiership players whose deals are up in the summer, going with a 4-3-3 formation. Let us know in the comments or the polls at the bottom of the article if there are any players who you think we’ve missed.
READ MORE: Rangers complete pre-contract moves for Jordan Jones and Glen Kamara
Goalkeeper - Tomas Cerny
The Aberdeen goalkeeper has been providing backup to Joe Lewis this season at Pittodrie in case the English keeper picks up an injury or faces suspension but has yet to be make an appearance this season. In truth, there aren’t too many goalies to choose from but Cerny showed last season that he was capable of excellent performances in the Scottish top flight.
Cerny played for a Partick Thistle side that were ultimately relegated but it could have been a lot worse for Alan Archibald’s side if they didn’t have the Czech between the sticks. Only Hearts keeper Jon McLaughlin made more saves than Cerny during the 2017/18 season and no other player made nearly as many reflex saves. The 33-year-old could certainly still do a job at this level and could prove a bargain if he’s snapped up and given a first-team opportunity.
Left back - Graeme Shinnie
OK, we’re cheating a little here, given that Shinnie has been a mainstay in the Aberdeen midfield for a few seasons now. However, the Aberdeen captain has played at full-back before and is certainly capable of doing a job there. The other options at left-back include Emilio Izaguirre, who isn’t having the best season, or Lee Wallace, who never plays. So we’ve opted with Shinnie.
Shinnie has attempted more defensive duels than any other player in the Premiership and has shown a remarkable level of consistency during his time at Pittodrie. Whenever he misses a game for Derek McInnes’ side they always seem to struggle and the club will no doubt do everything in their power to keep him. But, as it stands, other clubs could offer him a deal and there is nothing McInnes or Aberdeen could do about it.
Centre back - Dedryck Boyata
This one’s fairly obvious. Probably the most high-profile player in our starting XI, Boyata’s performances both domestically and in European competition - particularly last season - have resulted in the defender gaining plenty of admirers. Now a regular in the Belgium squad, Boyata has regularly been linked with a move away from Celtic Park over the last six months, but his manager Brendan Rodgers insists that he isn’t going anywhere - even if it means he leaves for nothing in the summer.
Boyata has the second-highest success rate of winning defensive duels (40%) in the Premiership and is only second to his team-mate Filip Benkovic (49%). Only Callum McGregor and Connor Goldson have played more passes than the Belgian centre back this season, and Boyata has the sixth-highest passing accuracy in the league.
Centre back - Craig Halkett
After being released by Rangers, Halkett joined Livingston and was part of the side that were relegated to League One in 2015/16. Since then, Halkett has established himself at the heart of the Livingston defence and has arguably been the West Lothian club’s most important player over the last two-and-a-half seasons as their incredible rise up the Scottish football ladder continues.
Back-to-back promotions and now sitting comfortably in seventh place in the league, it’s near-impossible to consider that Livingston could get relegated this season and their captain has played a huge role in their remarkable rise. No-one has made more interceptions than Halkett in the Premiership this season, and only three players have attempted more headers.
Right back - David Gray
Bit of a toss-up here between Gray and Celtic’s Swedish defender Mikael Lustig but Gray gets the nod from us. Lustig’s performances have been on the slide recently and if you ask most Celtic fans what area of the pitch they’d like to see an improvement, they’ll tell you right back.
Gray hasn’t featured too much for Hibernian this season but performed admirably for Neil Lennon’s side in the Europa League qualifiers and has the highest rate of key passes of any Premiership player, setting up 0.95 shots per 90 minutes. At 30 years old, Gray still has a few years left in him in Scottish football’s top flight while Lustig’s days in the Premiership appear to be numbered as age creeps up on the 32-year-old.
READ MORE: The Scottish Premiership's bargain XI | Part 2
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