Jim Goodwin has confirmed that Dundee United are in transfer talks with “a number of players”.
And the Tangerines gaffer hopes to have their business “pretty much done” before a ball is kicked in the Premiership.
The Terrors have wasted no time in adding to their ranks ahead of their top-flight return, with Dave Richards, Will Ferry, Vicko Sevelj and Ryan Strain all checking in at Tannadice.
Kristijan Trapanovski has agreed a two-year deal with an option for a third and is likely to arrive in Scotland next week ahead of being officially unveiled.
However, with 15 players exiting from the Championship-winning side of last term, there is plenty of work to be done – with Goodwin determined to swiftly build a quality squad.
Goodwin: We’ve had targets for “months”
“Ideally, we want to get as many new faces as early as possible,” said Goodwin. “We have competitive (League Cup) games around the corner, and we need to have a good squad in place to make sure we get out of that group.
“Myself, Michael Cairney (head of recruitment) and Luigi (Capuano, CEO) work closely on that and have identified targets months ago.
“It’s one thing identifying quality players. It’s another thing trying to get the deals done – as good players tend to have a lot of good options! There are ongoing talks with a number of players.
“Things down south tend to be a little bit slower because their contracts can run until the end of June or even the end of July.
“But you can recognise with the quality we are bringing in, that we want to bring in a level of player capable of competing in the Premiership.
“By the time the first league game comes around, we’ll have our recruitment pretty much done, I would imagine. But I’m very pleased with the business we have done up until now.”
Kevin Holt to be assessed by Dundee United docs
Goodwin was speaking in the aftermath of United’s pre-season curtain-raiser at Glebe Park, with the Tangerines seeing off Highland League outfit Brechin City 2-0 courtesy of goals from Kai Fotheringham and Tony Watt.
United also struck the bar twice, while Sevelj and Ferry both enjoyed excellent non-competitive debuts. Under-worked goalkeeper Dave Richards had little opportunity to impress on his maiden outing.
Indeed, the only downside was the withdrawal of Kevin Holt after a nasty clash of heads left him bloodied and dazed.
“It didn’t look great at the time,” continued Goodwin. “He has been left with a cut above his eye, and he did look a little bit wobbly on his legs just after that.
“We’ll assess it, the doctor will have a look at him. I would imagine he’ll be okay for next week.”
Back in the swing of things
On the game itself, Goodwin added: “It was a good way to finish off the week. We’ve had six sessions in that time, and it was nice to finish with 45 minutes for everyone in the group and get back into the swing of things.
“There was a bit of rustiness there, in terms of the passing and tempo and intensity. We’ll gradually get to that, but we were very professional.
“I’d have liked a couple more goals. There were a couple of offside goals that were quite tight, we hit the bar a couple of times, but all in all very good.”
