Dundee and Livingston were the only cinch Premiership clubs to announce signings by mid-afternoon on deadline day but more business is expected at Celtic and Rangers among others.
Dundee re-signed Norwich goalkeeper Jon McCracken on loan while Livingston completed a move for Inverness midfielder David Carson.
Celtic are set to wrap up the loan signing of Norwich and Republic of Ireland striker Adam Idah, who has scored seven goals this season, after the 22-year-old arrived in Glasgow on Wednesday.
Several players could be on their way out of Celtic Park with David Turnbull and Mikey Johnston tipped to join Cardiff and West Brom respectively, and James Forrest linked with an exit.
But Gustaf Lagerbielke’s proposed loan move to Italian side Lecce could be scuppered amid reports of further injury concerns over his fellow centre-back Cameron Carter-Vickers.
Rangers are expected to complete the signing of 20-year-old Colombian winger Oscar Cortes on loan from Lens with an option to buy after he arrived in Glasgow.
The Light Blues look to have been thwarted in their bid to land 20-year-old Brazilian left-back Jefte from Fluminense with loan club APOEL Nicosia reportedly intent on keeping him until the end of the campaign.
However, uncertainty remains over the future of Gers left-back Ridvan Yilmaz with Galatasaray said to be preparing an offer.
Reports from Italy also claimed Hellas Verona were set to launch a bid to sign Ibrox striker Cyriel Dessers.
McCracken’s return to Dens Park came following an initial loan deal being terminated in August after he lost his place to Trevor Carson.
The 23-year-old went on to join Accrington on an emergency loan and played 13 times and now cannot play for anyone else this season other than Dundee.
With Carson missing some recent games through injury, manager Tony Docherty told his club’s website: “It is important for me to have strong competition in every position for the last part of the season and I want that with our goalkeepers and bringing Jon in gives us a real level of competition.”
Livingston have signed midfielder David Carson on an 18-month deal after the 28-year-old made more than 160 appearances for Caley Thistle having joined from Morpeth Town in 2019.
Livi manager David Martindale, who is also hoping to sign a centre-back, said: “He can play in a number of positions but, for me, is best in a defensive midfield role. He has bags of endeavour and desire to work hard for the team and I’m sure this will see him quickly become a fans favourite.”
Motherwell are still looking for at least one further addition after signing 22-year-old Welsh forward Jack Vale on loan from Blackburn on Wednesday, and assistant manager Stephen Frail gave fans fresh hope there might be a loan return for Groningen striker Kevin van Veen.
“I’m not sure anything’s out the water,” Frail said on Thursday morning. “That could be one of those last-minute things. There will be one or two people that the manager and recruitment team are looking to bring in.”
However, St Mirren and Kilmarnock are also reported to be in the running for the Dutch striker. Killie manager Derek McInnes said on Wednesday “we may still look to add one if we can”.
Aberdeen are said to have failed in an effort to re-sign Mattie Pollock on loan from Watford, a day after Barry Robson was sacked as manager.
Hibernian are another club in the market for a central defender while Hearts are hoping to hold on to Lawrence Shankland after signing Scott Fraser on loan from Charlton on Wednesday.
Ross County are hoping to add least one more player while St Johnstone are reportedly keen to land 25-year-old striker Adama Sidibeh from English non-league side Warrington Rylands.
Outside of the top flight, Queen’s Park head coach Callum Davidson believes he has pulled off “a bit of a coup” by signing 32-year-old former Liverpool, Rangers and Scotland defender Danny Wilson from Colorado Rapids.
Lowland League side Albion Rovers sold striker Joe Bevan to Premier League Burnley for an undisclosed fee. The 19-year-old scored 15 goals for Rovers, including nine in League Two, after joining from Camelon 12 months ago.
Hurtig the hero after late goal sends Arsenal into Champions League quarters
Lina Hurtig's 89th minute winner ensured Arsenal progressed to the quarter-finals of the Women's Champions League after edging Juventus 1-0 on Thursday.
After being frustrated for large parts of the encounter, Hurtig bundled home from close range after Martina Lenzini's poor clearance to book the Gunners' place in the last eight.
Despite Arsenal dominating the early exchanges, it was Juventus who had the first sight of goal, though Eva Schatzer's effort was easy for Daphne van Domselaar to gather.
In a first half that saw just two shots on target, both coming from the visitors, Renee Slegers' substitutes proved to be the difference for Arsenal.
Slegers introduced Beth Mead, Stina Blackstenius and Hurtig late on, with the latter somehow putting Kim Little's cross over the bar from five yards out.
However, the Swede would atone for her earlier error, combining with fellow substitute Blackstenius to net against her former club and send them out of the competition with two group games remaining.
Meanwhile, in Group D, Barcelona edged closer to the quarter-finals of the competition with a convincing 4-1 victory over St. Polten at the Generali Arena.
The reigning champions are still three points behind Manchester City following their 2-1 win over Hammarby, and know a win against the Swedes next month will see them progress.
Kika Nazareth opened the scoring in the 20th minute after capitalising on a mistake by Kamila Dubcova, notching her second nine minutes later from close range.
Barca found themselves three goals up at the break when Vicky Lopez netted her first goal in the competition to put the result beyond doubt.
There was also a landmark moment for Alexia Putellas, who netted her 200th goal for the club with a well-taken effort into the far corner.
Valentina Madl took some of the shine off an otherwise impressive display from the visitors, who have now taken their tally to 20 goals from their four matches in the competition.
Guardiola agrees two-year contract extension with Man City
Pep Guardiola will be Manchester City manager for at least two more seasons after 2024-25, after he signed a two-year contract extension on Thursday.
The 53-year-old was coming to the end of his City deal, which was due to expire at the end of the current campaign, but he has opted to remain at the Etihad Stadium.
The deal itself will take Guardiola's tenure at the club to over a decade, making him City's longest-serving manager since Les McDowall in 1963.
There had been suggestions that he may leave at the end of the season following the announcement that director of football Txiki Begiristain was on his way out.
Guardiola was strongly linked with the England job after Gareth Southgate resigned in the wake of their Euro 2024 final defeat, but the Football Association appointed Thomas Tuchel last month.
“Manchester City means so much to me," Guardiola said. “This is my ninth season here; we have experienced so many amazing times together. I have a really special feeling for this football club.
“That is why I am so happy to be staying for another two more seasons.
“Thank you to everyone for continuing to trust and support me – The Owner, The Chairman Khaldoon, Ferran, Txiki, the players and, of course, the fans… everyone connected to Manchester City. It has always been an honour, a pleasure and a privilege to be here.
“I have said this many times before, but I have everything a manager could ever wish for, and I appreciate that so much.
“Hopefully, now we can add more trophies to the ones we have already won. That will be my focus.”
Having been appointed in 2016, Guardiola is by some distance Manchester City's most successful manager of all time, having won 18 major trophies during his time at the club.
That list includes their first-ever Champions League triumph in 2023 and six Premier League titles, including an unprecedented four on the spin.
He also boasts a 72.04% win percentage across all competitions, which is unsurprisingly the highest of any full-time City manager in history.
Shaw at the double as Man City progress in Champions League
Khadija Shaw scored twice as Manchester City beat Hammarby 2-1 to seal their place in the Women's Champions League quarter-finals.
Gareth Taylor's team entered Thursday's game with a perfect record in Group D, and their fourth win in as many European matches ensured they finished in the top two.
Shaw—the leading scorer in the Women's Super League this season with eight goals—put them ahead in the 31st minute, driving into the area after taking in Yui Hasegawa's pass before seeing her shot deflect into the top corner.
Shaw was booked for celebrating in front of the home fans despite appearing to have objects thrown at her from the stands, and Hammarby should have levelled when Julia Blakstad fired wide 10 minutes later.
The hosts did draw level three minutes into the second half as Ellen Wangerheim tapped home while City's Laura Blindkilde Brown was down appealing for a free-kick.
That parity was short-lived, though, as Shaw blasted into the top corner from 25 yards out, taking her overall tally for this season to 12 goals in all competitions.
In Group C, meanwhile, Bayern Munich lost their perfect record as they played out a 1-1 draw with Valerenga, boosting Arsenal's hopes of topping the pile.
Jovana Damnjanovic came off the bench to put Bayern ahead 15 minutes from time in Norway, but Elise Thorsnes headed home following an 88th-minute corner to snatch a point for the hosts.
Arsenal could now move within a point of Bayern when they face Juventus in Group C's other match later on Thursday.
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