Both were offered new deals some time ago but neither signed them. Despite McGowan being linked with moves away for more than a year it had been hoped he'd stay put, but Saints boss Danny Lennon says that is unlikely. A move to the Championship is a good bet - Birmingham had planned watching him in yesterday's game against Aberdeen before he got injured - but apparently if he stays in Scotland it'll be with us.
News that Samson is going is less surprising. It emerged a few weeks ago Motherwell were interested and Lennon confirmed they've now made a formal offer. An attempt to bring in a replacement is already under way with fellow goalie Kyle Letheren joining in training this week, something which amused a few of their fans as they don't rate him! Dons keeper Jamie Langfield - who is from Paisley - is another rumour.
Losing McGowan and Samson is a big blow. McGowan is a key part of how we play, as we discovered when he was injured, while Samson has been great for the last few years.
They won't be the last players going either. Esmael Goncalves, Paul Dummett and Conor Newton will be heading back to their clubs, Graham Carey, Sander Puri and Sam Parkin are out of contract while there are question marks over the happiness of Dougie Imrie, Grant Adam and Lewis Guy.
Lennon has said we'd need two or three players over the summer but realistically we need twice as many as that. It's going to be a huge rebuilding job and it promises to be an interesting pre-season.
Story source: BBC Sport
Source: Mirren MAD
Source: FOOTYMAD
