It's that time of year again where the yellow tie gets looked out, silly season is swept in and the wheeling and dealings start.
Often a quieter version of its summer counterpart, this January transfer window has already featured Scottish Premiership clubs dusting off their social skills for a host of big unveils.
But who is in, and who is still needed to bolster squads in the top flight for the remainder of the season?
Aberdeen chairman Dave Cormack promised fans the club would be busy in January, and already they have brought in highly-rated USA midfielder Dante Polvara, with the 24-year-old reportedly turning down the Bundesliga to sign for the Dons.
Currently sixth in the table, manager Stephen Glass believes his side can chase down third-placed Hearts despite a nine-point gap, and therefore more signings are expected before the month is out.
The Pittodrie outfit have been strongly linked with St Mirren midfielder Jamie McGrath and St Johnstone goalkeeper Zander Clark, though even if they can entice them to the north-east they may have to wait until summer to welcome them.
Aberdeen could have departures of their own to deal with. Welsh winger Ryan Hedges is out of contract at the end of the season and has not been convinced to sign a new deal. Midfielder Lewis Ferguson handed in a summer transfer request after a bid from Watford was turned down, and the club's resolve may be tested again soon.
Likewise, right-back Calvin Ramsay appears to be on the radar of clubs in England, Germany and Italy. While losing the 18-year-old would be a major blow to Glass' side, the recent sale of Nathan Paterson from Rangers to Everton for a huge transfer fee has Aberdeen pondering how much they can make off their own talented youth.
Newcastle's Matty Longstaff and Wolves' Austin Samuels have both returned to their parent clubs after failing to make an impact at Pittodrie on loan, but Brighton midfielder Teddy Jenks appears to be staying for the season.
- Why are clubs looking at Calvin Ramsay?
Celtic haven't hung about in splashing the cash, with four signings already in the door and a fifth - Australian midfielder Riley McGree - possibly on the way.
Permanent deals for impactful loan pair Jota and Cameron Carter-Vickers would complete a hugely productive month for manager Ange Postecoglou as he looks to overhaul Rangers' six-point Premiership lead in the second half of the season.
Now the Australian needs to quickly integrate the raft of new arrivals and ship out as much deadwood - costly flops such as Vasilis Barkas, Boli Bolingoli and Albian Ajeti - as he can from a bloated squad.
Of the new signings, fans' excitement is heightened for Japanese trio Daizen Maeda, Yosuke Ideguchi and Reo Hatate following the success of compatriot Kyogo Furuhashi in his debut season.
Could Maeda have a similarly explosive impact? The 24-year-old - the J-League's top scorer with 23 goals in the recently-ended campaign - is a pacy and industrious forward who could lighten the burden on Kyogo.
Celtic have been one of the busiest clubs so far in the Scottish Premiership this window
Plugging the division's leakiest defence - 37 goals conceded in 20 games - has to be a priority for the relegation-threatened Dark Blues.
With only St Johnstone below them in the table, Dundee's plight is pressing but they are taking their time to get business done as they have yet to sign a player this month.
Their budget may well be defined by getting problematic loan strikers off the books, with Leigh Griffiths and Jason Cummings both looking surplus to requirements.
As they look for rearguard reinforcements, former Dundee United and Dunfermline defender Paul Watson has joined the club on trial. Strengthening the defence will be key if Dundee are to scramble to safety and avoid an immediate return to the Championship.
United's main need this month was to burnish their attacking options, given Nicky Clark has been left to thrash away with precious little help in recent months. Tony Watt has been secured for the summer and talks continue to expedite that deal, but a reported fee of £100,000 is a high price for four or five months. Might United look elsewhere for a quick fix? Say, Belgium, perhaps, where Lawrence Shankland is suffering some difficulties? Elsewhere, it appears that Jeando Fuchs and Benji Siegrist will see out their deals before leaving in the summer, but teenage defender Kerr Smith is poised to join Aston Villa in a move that could be worth up to £2m should he fulfil his bountiful potential.
Hearts boss Robbie Neilson is very excited by the capture of Nathaniel Atkinson and fans will be expecting the marauding wing-back to play with the same zest as fellow Australian Cammy Devlin. Michael Smith isn't getting any younger but he has been a model professional at Tynecastle and won't be giving up his position to Atkinson without a fight.
Smith is on a long list of players out of contract in the summer, along with fellow defenders Stephen Kingsley and John Souttar. The latter appears destined to move on, so will the club be tempted to cash in on the 25-year-old Scotland international this month?
If Kingsley was to follow captain Craig Gordon and Craig Halkett in signing new deals that may well cheer supporters more than the prospect of any new faces.
There is a good balance available to Neilson at present after too many years of carrying a bloated, overpaid and underachieving squad.
- Halkett extends Hearts stay
Potential is the key recruitment component at Easter Road so far, with six fresh faces in the door, hot on the heels of manager Shaun Maloney. The emphasis is on youth, with the average age of the new arrivals just 21.
Chris Mueller and Elias Melkersen provide options to bolster an attack that has relied too heavily on Martin Boyle this season - or will they replace the speedy Australia international who has been linked with wealthy clubs in the Middle East? It would be a brave, and not particularly popular, move to sell a player on the top of his game, with 24 goals in 2021.
Dylan Tait and Ewan Henderson add midfield depth but may find it hard to dislodge Joe Newell, Jake Doyle-Hayes and Josh Campbell in central roles.
Harry Clarke impressed at Ross County with his galloping runs and offers competition at right wing-back and in a defence that has been found wanting at crosses too often. Rocky Bushiri also brings muscle at the back but the Belgian, like Henderson, is seriously short of match practice.
Wide left up front looks like the one obvious starting place up for grabs, with Mueller, Melkerson and Henderson in the frame to supply a solution, and Maloney certainly has more alternatives all over the pitch as the club look to make amends for an underwhelming summer in the transfer market.
Bushiri has been capped seven times at under-21 level for Belgium
Livingston have struggled to find the net consistently this season - 16 goals from 20 games is the joint second-worst tally in the league, and David Martindale's attack have failed to score in 40% of their Premiership fixtures.
When Bruce Anderson doesn't feature, there isn't a natural striker to replace him. Martindale has called on Andrew Shinnie to fill in on occasions, but the attacking midfielder is still very much new to the role.
But Livi's best business might come in the form of a returning loan player. Striker Joel Nouble has been influential for Championship leaders Arbroath and has been recalled. The 25-year-old could provide the focal point Martindale's side is badly lacking.
The West Lothian club look well stocked in midfield, plus the addition of 20-year-old defender Morgan Boyes from Liverpool adds competition to the backline, but an extra wideman to provide service to whoever is going to play up top wouldn't go amiss.
The majority of attention this window at Motherwell will revolve around the league's top goalscorer, Tony Watt.
The Fir Park forward has penned a pre-contract with Dundee United to join in the summer, but will a deal be done to take him to Tayside this month? Watt has 10 goals in all competitions this season and is already being touted for a potential Scotland call-up. To that end, his early departure would leave a bit of a hole.
Motherwell have been linked with Partick Thistle's fancied striker Zak Rudden, but no bid has yet been made.
Liam Shaw has checked in from Celtic on loan, while Robbie Crawford and Mich'el Parker have both departed.
Regardless of Watt's future, though, more creativity behind to support the strikers could be one thing Graham Alexander is considering adding.
So far in the window it's been one in, one out at Ibrox with right-back Nathan Patterson off to Everton for a club record £12m fee and defender/midfielder James Sands joining on an 18-month loan, which may lead to a permanent move.
With Patterson gone, the only realistic back-up for captain James Tavernier at right-back is the currently injured Leon Balogun, who is more comfortable at centre-half, so replacing Patterson may be one consideration for Giovanni van Bronckhorst.
With Sands in and Filip Helander and Balogun soon to be back from injury, Jack Simpson's first-team chances appear to be even slimmer. The Englishman has made just four appearances this season, the last of which came in October, and he has been linked with a January move. Further up the park, winger Brandon Barker is another who may be best served by a move, while midfielder John Lundstram has been linked with Middlesbrough.
The Scottish Premiership leaders have at least two options in most positions from midfield forward and the sale of Patterson has reduced the need to sell other prize assets such as Helander, Joe Aribo, Ryan Kent or Alfredo Morelos.
However, that quartet are entering the final 18 months of their contracts and January represents probably the last window to realise value on four of the players who helped win last season's league title. Vice-captain Connor Goldson is among a clutch of first-team regulars now in the last six months of a deal, which may also have a bearing on January business.
The new year began badly for County with defender Harry Clarke - a standout in the first half of the campaign - recalled by Arsenal and then moved on to Hibs.
Declan Drysdale has arrived from Coventry City as a replacement, the first of "four of five" signings chairman Roy MacGregor says the club need to cope with possible Covid disruption.
Maintaining momentum is key for Malky Mackay's side, who have risen out of the bottom two and lost to only the league's top three - Rangers, Celtic and Hearts - in 10 games.
They could do with tightening up at the back. While scoring hasn't been a problem - only the top three have netted more - County have the second poorest defensive record after Dundee.
There is not another team in the division screaming out for a goalscorer more than St Johnstone.
A measly total of 11 goals in 20 games has Callum Davidson's men rooted to the bottom of the table. The league's top scorer Tony Watt has nine on his own.
Former Celtic, Dundee United and Motherwell striker Nadir Ciftci has been drafted in from Turkey, but the 29-year-old has hit double figures in a season just once since his departure from Tannadice in 2015.
Nadir Ciftci was most recently in Scotland with Motherwell in 2018
Davidson needs someone with cutting edge and an eye for goal, and his search for that has reportedly led him to Partick Thistle striker Rudden along with Motherwell.
The Scotland Under-21 forward, whose contract expires at the end of this season, has 10 goals in all competitions this term. But Thistle won't budge easily, with a Premiership promotion push firmly in their sights.
The Perth side's back three, which was imperious at times last term, has looked disjointed following the sale of captain Jason Kerr in August. Davidson will hope the capture of former Liverpool youth centre-back Dan Cleary from Dundalk will shore things up.
The Paisley side are within touching distance of eighth-placed Livingston and three points clear of the bottom two.
The Buddies have conceded fewer goals than two of the three sides below them but, like Livi, getting goals has been a problem. Only eight players in Jim Goodwin's squad have scored league goals this season.
However, Goodwin's ability to recruit attackers may be dependent on selling first. Jamie McGrath and Ethan Erhahon are St Mirren's most sought-after players and January is the club's last chance to sell Republic of Ireland midfielder McGrath, with Aberdeen rumoured to be interested.
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Source: bbc.com