Thomas Konrad may have been man-of-the-match when Dundee beat the English champions but he insists he was already sold on the club before that win over Manchester City.
The former SV Eintract Trier and Karlsruher player joined German compatriot Luka Tankulic in signing a two-year deal for the Dark Blues on Monday.
The 24-year-old central defender and 23-year-old striker were called the “final pieces in the jigsaw” by manager Paul Hartley as they were introduced to the media.
But Konrad revealed that his own personal puzzlehad already been solved before he put in an out-standing display at theheart of the Dundeedefence as City were defeated 2-0 at Dens earlier this month.
He said: “I had already decided before we beat Manchester City that Dundee was the team for me.That was a great result but I knew before the match I wanted to stay.
“The training camp in Hungary was also very good and I was really impressed by the club.So I feel I am really lucky and happy to be here.
“I like the stadium here and my teammates have been very friendly to us and made us very welcome.”
The stock of German football has hardly been higher after their World Cup win in Brazil and Konrad has shown that as well as being tough in the tackle he can play a bit as well.
“I like to read the game as well as putting in strong challenges on my opponents,” he said.“I played two years at Karlsruher and two at Trier in Germany but I was still young then.
“Now I have the chance to prove myself at the top division in Scotland.”
Hartley confirmed that he feels his squad is now complete, with only something from leftfield likely to get him to agree another deal.
“We have brought 11 players in and these two are probably the final pieces in the jigsaw unless something special turns up.
“Both Thomas and Luka worked with us in Hungary and really impressed us.In the Man City game they were excellent and I wanted to get both signed up as quickly as possible.
“They have signed two-year contracts and are at a good age.Both of them fit the bill in terms of how we want to play.
“They wanted to come here and were impressed by the club.Importantly, their teammates were impressed by them and after the Man City game we definitely knew we wanted them.
“They also have a good mentality, strong personality and I think they will be stars here.”
Fans are likely to get the opportunity to see their new German duo in action tonight when Hearts visit for the club’s latest pre-season friendly.
Hartley said: “The two new lads will be in the squad and I am looking forward to it because I think there will be a good crowd.It will be a tough game for us because Hearts are a very good team with a good management team there.”