Dundee United have confirmed the signings of two Partick Thistle players on pre-contract agreements.
Manager Jackie McNamara has swooped on his old club to secure the services of versatile Paul Paton and midfielder Chris Erskine for next season.
Twenty-five-year-old Paton, who can play at full back and midfield, and 26-year-old Erskine will leave Firhill when their current deals end at the close of this season.
Both have been central to Partick’s First Division title push and McNamara no doubt believes they can hack it at a higher level, having worked with the pair closely during his time as Thistle boss.
Meanwhile Ryan Gauld and John Souttar won’t be the only Tannadice teenagers to make their mark over the next few months, according to coach Darren Jackson.
The former Scotland striker had a pretty good idea there was a talented batch of youngsters at Dundee United before he joined McNamara’s backroom staff a couple of months ago.
But he admitted he has been even more impressed now that he has worked with them on the training ground.
Forward Gauld and defender Souttar hit the headlines with performances belying their age in Sunday’s Scottish Cup semi-final against Celtic.
And there will be others who Jackson expects to follow the duo’s lead.
He said: “As an agent I watched a lot of under-20 games, and I’m still pals with Davie Bowman so I knew all about Ryan and John.
“But it isn’t until you come in and work with them that you realise just how good they are. For the age they’re at, it’s ridiculous. I don’t think you get many 16 and 17-year-olds in SPL teams so you’ve got to be a bit special.
“They showed in the Aberdeen game, which was a massive one for the club, that they could handle it. What convinced us to play them in the semi was that they’re good players. As simple as that.
“Yes, they’re young but you’ll get a chance here whatever your age is. You don’t like picking out people because everybody was fantastic on Sunday, but being 16 and 17, with them you have to.”
Jackson added: “I think we’ve got a lot of special kids at the club.
“There are others coming along who will get a chance just like these two. Dundee United have always been known for bringing through kids and a lot of credit has to go to Brian Grant, Stevie Campbell and Davie Bowman, as well as the scouts.
“We’re very very excited about the crop we’ve got here.”
Jackson stressed the importance of keeping the balance of experience and youth right in the United squad.
“We have to manage them properly because there are a lot of games in a season,” he pointed out. But we’ve got an experienced dressing room that will help them.
“It’s one thing the management looking after them but you need the dressing room to as well, and we’ve got every confidence that will happen.
“You need an experienced core to the squad. Hearts have got a lot of good kids but they’ve had to throw them all in, and that makes it hard. They need help from experienced players.”