The focus may be on player transfers this month but after a long, long wait there looks to be movement on a switch that affects all of Scottish football.

The Scottish FA will finally have talks with number one target Michael O'Neill about the national team managerial vacancy but it's far from certain he'll be tempted to take up office at Hampden.

Should O'Neill take the job he'll have plenty of options in midfield but might fancy keeping an  eye on developments in Italy over the next year or two. Liam Henderson has taken an unusual decision for a Scottish player and the Scotland under-21 player will now continue his career with Serie B promotion hopefuls Bari.

Yesterday STV reported that Hamilton captain Mikey Devlin was making progress in his return from long-term injury and Martin Canning isn't the only manager keeping a close eye on his return. Having reportedly had one bid for the player rejected already, Derek McInnes is still keen to take the player to Aberdeen amidst interest from elsewhere.

Beyond the border, Alexis Sanchez is still waiting to leave Arsenal and it's emerged that his proposed salary at Manchester United is £27m per year before tax. He'll also get a £20m signing-on fee.

Meanwhile, Real Madrid continued their long-held position as kings of the transfer rumour mill as Marca reported they want to freshen up their attack with the triple signing of Neymar, Eden Hazard and Robert Lewandowski.