The best transfer from each SPFL Club - Part Two

Welcome to part two of the best transfer from each SPFL club here on my blog. Today I’ll be picking the best move each of Livingston, Motherwell, Rangers, Ross County, St. Johnstone and St. Mirren have made this summer. Let’s begin in West Lothian. 

Livingston - Bruce Anderson

Every summer, it seems there is a rebuild in progress at the Tony Macaroni Arena. Several first team players departed at the end of the last campaign such as Jay Emmanuel-Thomas, Efe Ambrose, Scott Robinson and Jon Guthrie. Countless footballers have came through the door; Ayo Obileye, Andrew Shinnie and James Penrice are just three players David Martindale has added to his squad. In my opinion, the best out of the plethora of arrivals was Bruce Anderson’s. The 22 year old joined Livingston on a free transfer from Aberdeen after he spent loan spells at Ayr United and Hamilton in 20/21. Anderson now seems settled in West Lothian after four loan spells away from Aberdeen saw him make little inroads to the starting eleven. The Scot has already made a phenomenal start to life at Livingston, scoring three and assisting one in nine appearances, and has been a diamond in the rough for the only side who have yet to register a single point in the SPFL this season. The striker signed a three year deal and I feel Livingston may found a talisman and striker for years to come for next to nothing. 

Motherwell - Juhani Ojala

Motherwell had the third leakiest defence in the Scottish Premiership last season, conceding 55 goals in their 38 matches. This creates an average of 1.44 goals conceded per match in the SPFL in 20/21 for the ‘Well. In the summer transfer window, Graham Alexander acquired the services of ten players. Names like Sean Goss, Liam Kelly and Jordan Roberts stand out but I believe the best piece of business Motherwell have conducted this summer is the addition of centre back Juhani Ojala. Ojala joined from Danish Superligaen side Vejle Boldklub. Throughout his career, Ojala has turned out in the colours of several teams which include Klubi 04, HJK Helsinki, Young Boys, FK Akhmat, SJK Seinajoki, Hacken and the afore mentioned Vejle Boldklub of Denmark. He has amassed 250 club appearances over the course of his career; he’s played 30 times for his country. Ojala wasn’t in the Finland squad which competed at Euro 2020 but he made many appearances in the qualifying campaign as well as playing 66 minutes in his country’s famous victory over France in Paris. The 6”3 32 year old will tighten up the Motherwell defence, of that I’m sure. He’s even begun to prove this, putting in a man of the match performance in his side’s 1-0 win over Dundee in the league. A fee for the transfer is unknown however his market value at the time of the deal was £225,000 so one can imagine the fee would’ve been in this region. Ojala will bring invaluable club and international experience to Motherwell and I believe the defender is a supreme addition to the Motherwell squad. 

Rangers - Juninho Bacuna 

After their first major trophy and title win in ten years, it seems Steven Gerrard has stuck to the mantra of if it’s not broken, don’t fix it. The majority of Rangers’ departures this summer were loan deals and not first team regulars. Nikola Katic, Cedric Itten, Jake Hastie, Glenn Middleton, Ben Williamson and Lewis Mayo all departed temporarily. George Edmundson and Jordan Jones though, left for good. In terms of incomings, there have been few at Ibrox. If you don’t include Nnamdi Ofoborh who signed a pre-contract with Rangers in February, the club have only brought in three players. Juninho Bacuna, John Lundstram and Fashion Sakala joined from Huddersfield, Sheffield United and Oostende respectively. Lundstram and Sakala were free signings whereas Bacuna’s arrival was one that cost the Gers a fee which was undisclosed. Bacuna’s arrival is what I believe to be Rangers’ best signing of the summer. The 24 year old still has plenty of room to develop and playing alongside experienced professionals like Steven Davis and John Lundstram will only aid him in doing so. Bacuna is also an international for his country, having made 10 caps for Curaçao. He is yet to make his Rangers debut but after the International break, I’m certain Steven Gerrard will not hesitate in utilising Bacuna’s services with the gruelling fixture schedule the Scottish champions have coming up. 

Ross County - Ross Callachan 

The majority of the arrivals at the Global Energy Stadium this summer were either loan deals or free transfers. Malky McKay managed to add eleven new players to his squad for the 21/22 campaign. That’s too high a number to mention all of the players but some prominent additions were Jack Baldwin, David Cancola and Ross Callachan. The latter is what I believe to be the best piece of business Ross County have carried out this summer. Callachan enjoyed an outstanding season with Hamilton Accies in 20/21 despite the club’s relegation from the Premiership. The midfielder scored 9 goals and set up a further 3 in 33 appearances for Brian Rice’s old side. Callachan’s goals accounted for more than a quarter of all of the goals Hamilton scored in the Premiership last season. Ross County will be hoping the 27 year old can carry his goal scoring exploits to the Highlands as the club’s top scorer last season was Oli Shaw, who bagged just 6 in 24 SPFL appearances. 

St. Johnstone - Glenn Middleton

In the final hours of transfer deadline day, it looked as though St. Johnstone were going to retain the majority of the squad which carried them to a historic Cup Double. That was not to be the case though. Captain Jason Kerr signed for Wigan and promising midfielder Ali McCann made the move to Preston. Both these deals earned St. Johnstone a combined £1.9 million or so. Great business for the buying clubs but not so for the Perth Sainties. St. Johnstone have secured eight signings this summer. Six of them were loans with the only permanent deals being that of James Brown’s and Eetu Vertainen’s. The acquisition of Glenn Middleton though, on loan for a further year, is the finest piece of business the McDiarmid Park club have carried out this summer in my opinion. Middleton enjoyed a loan spell in Perth in the final six months of the last campaign, scoring 3 goals in 13 games which included a sublime free kick in the Scottish Cup semi final against St. Mirren. Should the 21 year old repeat his form of the last campaign with St. Johnstone in 21/22, he could possibly go back to Rangers and give Steven Gerrard something to think about ahead of next season. 

St. Mirren - Scott Tanser

St. Mirren are about to enjoy their fourth consecutive season in the Scottish Premiership after winning the Championship in 17/18. Jim Goodwin remains in charge of the Paisley Saints who saw the departure of eight players this season. Seven players have came through the door including the likes of Alan Power, Charles Dunne, Curtis Main and Greg Kiltie. These are familiar names in Scottish football and another one is Scott Tanser. The Englishman made 139 appearances in his time at St. Johnstone before leaving on a free for Paisley. Tanser’s arrival at St. Mirren ranks highest among the club’s incomings this summer, I believe. The 26 year old joined on a free after he was a consequential part of the St. Johnstone side which won the Cup Double in 20/21, making 36 appearances across the Scottish Premiership, Scottish Cup and League Cup. Tanser has featured in all four of St. Mirren’s league games so far this season as well as playing 120 minutes in their League Cup tie with Livingston which went to extra time. In these 5 appearances for his new club, Tanser has 2 assists. Tanser’s best is yet to come at the age 26 and covering the left side with a license to get forward in Jim Goodwin’s 3-5-2 will help him blossom in Paisley. 

That concludes my series of best SPFL Transfers of the summer. If you have any thoughts or would like to share your opinion, comment down below. You can also read part one of this series on my blog by going to the home page and you’ll find it there if you scroll down. 

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