Dundee boss Paul Hartley has revealed that former Rangers and Holland star Arthur Numan helped seal the deal for new Dark Blues striker Yordi Teijsse.
The 23-year-old front man signed a two-year contract at Dens on Monday after leaving Dutch amateur side Quick Boys.
Hartley had been tracking the player for several months and as well as watching a lot of footage of the prolific forward, he also sought the advice of Numan, who is currently working with AZ Alkmaar as well as another Dutchman, former Hearts and Dundee United striker Mark de Vries.
And their positive reaction to Teijsse helped persuade the Dundee boss that he was worth taking a chance on.
He said: “I heard about Yordi eight or nine months ago.
“I have seen a lot of footage of him and while he is raw, he has bags of potential.
“He can score a goal, is strong and is also really good in the air.
“I have known Arthur Numan for a while and I always speak to him whenever there is a Dutch player on our radar.
“I was in touch with him all last week about Yordi and I also spoke to Mark de Vries when I was on a course at St Andrews last week.
“Both had really good things to say about Yordi and we are delighted to have signed him.
“He will take a bit of time to adjust to Scottish football but he speaks very good English as all the Dutch lads do and that should help him settle here.
“He is a good size as well, is the right age for us, has a presence and a great personality. I am really looking forward to working with him.”
While determined to give Teijsse time to make the step up from amateur football in his homeland to the professional game in Scotland, Hartley admits he is looking for the player to make an impact for the club next season.
However, that in no way indicates the manager envisages losing any of his star men already at Dens.
He said: “I expect Yordi to be challenging for a place in the first team next season, definitely.
“Hopefully he will add to the exciting attacking options we have already in Kane Hemmings, Greg Stewart, Rory Loy and Craig Wighton.
“As ever, there is a lot of speculation about Kane and Greg but as far as we are concerned, they are going nowhere.
“In fact, I am still looking to add two more players to the squad.”
Another two current players, Nicky Low and Paul McGowan underwent operations at the end of last season on their ankle and shoulder respectively.
Hartley admitted he was pleased with how the surgeries went and they are now both making progress along with James McPake who is gradually working his way back to full fitness after suffering a fractured kneecap in the New Year derby.
The manager added: “Paul and Nicky’s ops went well.
“Nicky is back in with the physio and is on target to make the start of the season.
“Paul will come with us to Austria on our pre-season trip but he is likely to miss the League Cup games. Hopefully he will be ready for the start of the Premiership.
“James is getting there but it was a really serious injury and we will be taking no chances with him.”
Meanwhile, defender Kosta Gadzhalov has signed a new one-year deal with the club although it now looks certain that Paul McGinn has played his last game for Dundee after turning down a new contract while Spanish striker Arturo has left the Dark Blues.
