Dundee have completed the cinch Premiership’s first signing of transfer deadline day by taking Norwich goalkeeper Jon McCracken back to Dens Park on loan.
McCracken made four appearances for Dundee at the start of the season but lost his place when Trevor Carson joined from St Mirren and both parties agreed to terminate the loan deal in August.
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.”
Celtic are set to wrap up the loan signing of Norwich striker Adam Idah after the 22-year-old arrived in Glasgow on Wednesday.
The Republic of Ireland international has scored 17 goals since graduating from the Canaries academy, with seven of them coming this season.
Celtic boss Brendan Rodgers is also keen to add a left-back as Greg Taylor is out injured, with 31-year-old Paris St Germain player Layvin Kurzawa mooted as a possibility.
Midfielder David Turnbull, who is out of contract at the end of the season, has been linked with a £2million move to Cardiff, while 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.
There could be big news at Rangers amid reports from Italy that Hellas Verona are set to launch a bid to sign striker Cyriel Dessers.
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.
However, the Ibrox club look to have been thwarted in their bid to land Brazilian left-back Jefte from Fluminense. The Gers hoped to recruit the 20-year-old immediately, but he is currently on loan with APOEL Nicosia and the Cypriot club are reportedly intent on keeping him until the end of the campaign.
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. Any developments will maybe be last minute or later in the day.”
Aberdeen are said to have had a bid rejected in an effort to re-sign Mattie Pollock on loan from Watford, a day after Barry Robson was sacked as manager.
Hearts forward Lawrence Shankland has been the subject of intense speculation in recent months, but the Jambos go into the final day of the window without any notable approaches having been made for their top scorer.
The Edinburgh club signed Scott Fraser on Wednesday, but it looks unlikely that they will secure Yan Dhanda before the deadline after the Ross County playmaker agreed a pre-contract to move to Tynecastle in the summer.
Staggies boss Derek Adams said on Tuesday he expects the 25-year-old to remain in Dingwall for the rest of the season, while he hopes to add at least one or possibly two new players.
St Johnstone are reportedly hoping to land 25-year-old striker Adama Sidibeh from English non-league side Warrington Rylands.
Livingston boss David Martindale hopes to sign a new centre-back as well as Inverness midfielder David Carson, while Hibernian are another club in the market for a central defender.
Kilmarnock manager Derek McInnes said on Wednesday “we may still look to add one if we can”, while his St Mirren counterpart Stephen Robinson is happy with the make-up of his squad and not planning for much deadline-day business.
Outside of the top flight, Lowland League side Albion Rovers have 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.
Paris Saint-Germain 3-3 Le Havre: Ramos rescues point but title confirmation must wait
Paris Saint-Germain were held to a 3-3 draw at home to relegation-battling Le Havre on Saturday and will need to wait before confirming their 12th Ligue 1 title.
PSG would have clinched the title with three games to spare with a victory. They have a 12-point gap over second-placed Monaco, who are at Lyon on Sunday, and a goal difference of 47 to Monaco's 18.
The away side opened the scoring in the 19th minute through Christopher Operi and PSG levelled 10 minutes later with Bradley Barcola scoring, but Le Havre went ahead again seven minutes before the break when Andre Ayew found the net.
Le Havre made it 3-1 with an Abdoulaye Toure penalty in the 61st minute, before Achrif Hakimi gave PSG hope with a goal 12 minutes from time and Goncalo Ramos levelled in added time. Le Havre are 15th on 29 points.
Aston Villa 2-2 Chelsea: Gallagher caps Blues fightback at Villa Park
Conor Gallagher scored the equaliser as Chelsea fought back from two goals down to clinch a deserved 2-2 draw with Champions League-chasing Aston Villa on Saturday.
Villa looked set to go nine points clear of Tottenham in the race to finish in the Premier League's top four, with Marc Cucurella's own goal and Morgan Rogers' low drive giving them a handsome half-time lead.
Mauricio Pochettino's men dominated much of the first half without reward, but they continued to press after the interval and cultured finishes from Noni Madueke and Gallagher dragged them level.
They almost completed a fine comeback in stoppage time, but there was relief for Villa when referee Craig Pawson disallowed a goal for Chelsea defender Axel Disasi following a VAR review due to an infringement from Benoit Badiashile.
It meant Villa boss Unai Emery was unable to celebrate his new long-term contract with three points, with his team now seven points clear of fifth-placed Spurs, who have three games in hand on their rivals.
Chelsea stay ninth and are five points adrift of the top seven, but with a game in hand to come, their European hopes are not yet over.
Villa made a flying start and were ahead within four minutes, albeit in somewhat fortunate circumstances. John McGinn didn't get a clean connection on Lucas Digne's left-wing cutback, but his shot bounced off Cucurella and into the net.
Chelsea thought they were level after 16 minutes as Nicolas Jackson raced clear to finish into the roof of the net, but his strike was disallowed for offside after a VAR review, with replays showing he was leaning beyond Matty Cash.
Jackson should then have equalised when found by Cucurella six yards out, but he could only send his header against the foot of the post and wide.
Villa then doubled their lead against the run of play shortly before half-time, with Djordje Petrovic powerless as Rogers squeezed his shot through Trevoh Chalobah's legs and in.
A hamstring injury saw Villa goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez withdrawn at half-time, and his replacement Robin Olsen was beaten after 62 minutes, Madueke stroking home after Gallagher forced a high turnover.
Olsen stuck out an arm to deny Madueke a second with 71 minutes gone, but he had no chance as the Blues levelled with nine minutes to play, Gallagher rifling a left-footed finish into the top-left corner.
Chelsea thought they had won it when Disasi headed home five minutes into stoppage time, but referee Pawson disallowed the goal following a VAR review, with Badiashile adjudged to have fouled Diego Carlos in the build-up.
Villa throw it away
Villa could hardly have wished for a stronger position at half-time. Despite Chelsea carving out several good openings, they found themselves 2-0 up and primed to exploit their opponents further through the pace of Ollie Watkins and Leon Bailey.
Chelsea had lost 16 of their previous 18 Premier League games when trailing at half-time (one win, one draw), losing their last eight when two or more goals behind at the break.
However, Emery's men simply didn't get going after the restart, and only a late VAR review saved them from a crushing defeat, with Disasi's potential winner chalked off for a foul by fellow defender Badiashile.
Gallagher leads from the front
Gallagher has polarised opinion at times this season, but Chelsea's stand-in skipper produced a talismanic display just when his team needed him most at Villa Park.
The England international is known for his tenacious work out of possession, and he forced a turnover on the corner of the Villa box in the build-up to Madueke's goal.
Gallagher's own strike, which flew into the top corner to stun the home faithful, took him to double figures for Premier League goal involvements for the season (four goals, six assists). He has only achieved that feat in one other campaign in the competition, scoring eight goals and adding three assists on loan at Crystal Palace in 2021-22.
Four of his seven Premier League goals for Chelsea, meanwhile, have now come from outside the area.
Chelsea Women 0-2 Barcelona Femeni (1-2 agg): Holders reach Champions League final again
Women's Champions League holders Barcelona overturned a 1-0 first-leg deficit to reach a fourth straight final on Saturday, beating 10-player Chelsea 2-0 at Stamford Bridge.
Emma Hayes' hopes of ending her glittering spell with the Blues by lifting the Champions League trophy were dashed in heartbreaking fashion in front of a sell-out crowd in West London.
Barca went ahead through Ballon d'Or winner Aitana Bonmati 26 minutes in, the diminutive Spaniard seeing her shot deflect off Kadeisha Buchanan to beat Hannah Hampton.
The hosts pushed for a response as Sjoeke Nuksen struck the post, but their position worsened just before the hour mark as Buchanan was perhaps harshly shown a second yellow card for her tackle on Salma Paralluelo.
Barca penned their hosts back from there and Bonmati was decisive again as they inched ahead with 15 minutes to play, drawing a foul from Ashley Lawrence and allowing Fridolina Rolfo to convert from the penalty spot.
Jonatan Giraldez's team have won two of the last three editions of the Champions League, also losing in the final to Lyon in 2021-22. They could be reunited with Les Lyonnaises in next month's final in Bilbao, as they hold a 3-2 lead over Paris Saint-Germain at the halfway stage of the other semi-final.
Data Debrief: Bonmati caps trademark Barca performance
Aided by Buchanan's red card, Barcelona showcased their mastery of possession-based football at Stamford Bridge, enjoying 67.8 per cent of the possession and completing over twice as many passes as Chelsea (583 to 224).
Bonmati was at the centre of everything for the Blaugrana, playing a key role in both goals as well as laying on two chances for team-mates and playing 31 passes in the final third – no Chelsea player recorded more than 11.
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