- EXCLUSIVE with Mark Hendry
St Johnstone showed signs of life with a stirring late comeback to beat Motherwell yesterday.
Being seven points adrift at the foot of the Premiership table sounds a whole lot better than 10 so Taylor Steven and Bozo Mikulic’s late strikes to flip yesterday’s game on its head could be valuable.
Manager Simo Valakari has previously admitted a Saints relegation is a ‘big possibility’ but he is trying to get the team playing in his style and the January window can help with that.
Agreements are in place to sign Latvia centre-back Daniels Balodis and Swedish midfielder Jonathan Svedberg but St Johnstone are awaiting work permits before the pair can play.
As is stands, that same process has robbed them of the addition of 37-year-old Finnish superstar Roman Eremenko but it’s believed there’s a chance of resurrecting that one.
There is always the risk of losing players too though and Not the Old Firm exclusively revealed interest from down south in Saints defender Jack Sanders.
While bids are also expected for top scorer Benji Kimpioka, with interest from Switzerland and Israel.
Now, another player is attracting interest.
Arsenal Tula approach St Johnstone over Andre Raymond
Andre Raymond was brought to McDiarmid Park by Craig Levein at the beginning of the season after a tip off from former Saints midfielder Dan Phillips, who plays with the left-back for Trinidad and Tobago.
Levein was confident the 24-year-old would prove to be a shrewd signing and that has looked the case so far with some impressive showings.
Simo Valakari also became a fan of the player after taking over.
Now, Russian second tier side Arsenal Tula are also admirers and Not the Old Firm understands they have already made an approach to St Johnstone.
The Perth Saints will now have a decision to make on a player whose contract expires in the summer of 2026, especially if they can make money on someone brought in on a free transfer.
Arsenal Tula reached the Russan top flight for the first time in their history after three successive promotions. They were relegated after just one year but have since had other spells in the top tier.
‘Powerful’ Raymond ‘loved’ by Simo Valakari
Upon bringing Raymond to the Scottish Premiership, Levein said: “We are delighted to bring Andre into the club to bolster our defensive options.
“Andre was a recommendation of our former player Dan Phillips, and we are excited to work with him going forward. Andre’s pace and power will be useful attributes both in defence and attack.”
Valakari also quickly spotted his attricutes, saying back in December: “I love Andre, he’s such a natural footballer. You saw the class in the quality of the cross for our goal against Kilmarnock.
“We’re still working with him so that he stays with the match for every moment.
“He needs to focus all the time. Then he can play better to all his strengths.
“He’s a young boy. Sometimes he gets so excited, he’s watching the game – and maybe a striker is behind him.
“He’s a real modern full-back. He can see that opponents might be targeting him with high balls, diagonal balls behind him.
“But he’s a very physical guy who can jump, he can time his headers and he’s not bad in the air.”
Raymond was highly-rated as a younger player and was invited for a trial at Braga – but ended up in jail instead, as reported by the Scottish Sun.
He was at Portuguese third tier side Vilar de Perdizes before heading for Scotland but could soon be on the move again.