Former Celtic star signs new deal with Scottish Premiership rivals

Despite a flurry of transfer talk around both Celtic and Rangers, it hasn't been a busy January transfer window for either of the Glasgow giants so far.

The Ibrox club moved quickly to add Wolves striker Fabios Silva on loan and the Hoops are understood to be closing in on forward Nicolas Kühn from Rapid Wien. Apart from that, there hasn't been much movement around either of the Premiership title contenders.

However, several of the other top flight clubs have been busy getting business done including Kilmarnock who have just signed up a former Celtic player on a new contract. Gary MacKay-Steven joined the Ayrshire outfit earlier this season on a short-term deal which they have now extended until the end of the current campaign.

The former Aberdeen, Hearts and Dundee United man, who was twice capped by the Scotland men's national team, first arrived at Rugby Park late in 2023 having worked under manager current Killie boss Derek McInnes during his time at Pittodrie. The 33-year old made four appearances for the club over the festive period.

The one time Liverpool academy player spent two and a half seasons at Celtic Park, arriving from Dundee United in 2015. He made 62 appearances and scored ten goals during that period but never quite hit the heights that many supporters had hoped for.

He reignited his career in 2017 when he signed with Aberdeen for an undisclosed fee and an impressive two seasons in the North East, where he also worked his way back into the Scotland set-up briefly, saw him earn a move to New York City FC in Major League Soccer. After two seasons in MLS he returned to Scotland with Hearts where he spent another two seasons between 2021 and 2023 before eventually joining Kilmarnock last season on a free transfer.