John McGlynn reveals Falkirk are closing in on first signing of January window

Falkirk boss John McGlynn is close to securing his first new signing of the January transfer window.

The Bairns boss is hopeful of having a fresh face added to his squad ahead of Saturday’s William Hill Premiership trip to St Mirren.

“We should have an announcement tomorrow,” McGlynn said at a press conference on Thursday.

The manager was reluctant to share any details of his impending new recruit, although he dismissed suggestions that Hearts pair James Wilson and Alan Forrest might be joining his team.

“No,” he said. “That’s having a stab in the dark.”

Beyond the imminent arrival, McGlynn expects to “do two or three things” before the window closes, while he also intends to extend existing players’ contracts.

“We’re negotiating with quite a few,” he said. “We’ve got a number of loan players and nine times out of 10 all the loan players go back at the end of the season, so we’re trying to extend contracts on players who have got maybe six months, even 18 months on their contract because we will have to replace a lot of the loan players.”

McGlynn confirmed that centre-back Ryan Edwards, who joined in November to provide cover during a defensive injury crisis, will not have his deal extended beyond January 19.

“Nothing to do with Ryan but we’ve obviously got these guys coming back,” he said, with Coll Donaldson returning to the squad last week and Lewis Neilson back in training.

Veteran midfielder Scott Arfield left Falkirk last week after being restricted to just four league starts this season.

“It’s as straightforward as it looks,” McGlynn said of the 37-year-old’s unexpected departure. “Scott’s getting on in years, obviously getting towards the end of his playing career, and he needs to be playing.

“He wasn’t getting the game time that would satisfy him. He was brilliant all the way through. He came in and had a chat with us two or three weeks before and he gave us his intentions. I wish him well.”