English defender joins St Mirren on loan deal
NEW arrival Ryan Alebiosu is being tipped for success after joining St Mirren on transfer deadline day.
The 23-year-old wing-back has signed on loan from Belgian top-flight side KV Kortrijk until the end of the season.
Alebiosu is no stranger to Scottish football, having made 29 appearances for Kilmarnock during a loan spell at the Ayrshire club from Arsenal two seasons ago.
Buddies boss Stephen Robinson revealed he had secured the player’s signature at the second time of asking.
He said: “We tried to get him previously when he was at Arsenal.
“It’s a chance for him to put himself in the shop window and for us to benefit from a different type of right-sided player in certain games.
“He has experienced the league before. It was important to get someone who knows the league. It can be a shock to people’s system sometimes and it can surprise people.
“Ryan has experienced it before with Kilmarnock and he went abroad for a different experience.”
Alebiosu turned pro at Arsenal in 2020 and spent part of the 2021/22 season on loan at Crewe Alexandra, where he made six appearances in England’s League One.
After his season-long loan at Kilmarnock during the 2022/23 campaign, he joined Kortrijk in September 2023.
The Englishman has since featured 25 times for the Belgian club, including 13 appearances in the Jupiler Pro League this season.
Robinson described Alebiosu as a player who has “electric pace and an end product, in terms of crosses.”
He added: “It’s important that we got someone in at the right-side of the pitch. Elvis Bwomono is very good defensively but, in some games, we may need a player who is more like a winger and Ryan can bring us that.”
It has also been reported that Saints missed out on a loan deal for highly-rated Celtic striker Johnny Kenny.
The 21-year-old Irishman spent the first half of this season on loan at Shamrock Rovers.