Dundee boss Paul Hartley is playing the waiting game after holding talks with former Motherwell midfielder Tom Hateley.
Hartley sees the 26-year-old Englishman as the ideal pick to give balance to his side but faces competition for his signature, with Partick Thistle and Hibernian also trailing the free agent.
But more concerning for the Dundee manager is the news that English clubs such as AFC Wimbledon and Bradford have joined the queue of interested suitors.
Hartley has done his best to convince Hateley that Dundee should be his preferred destination after quitting Polish side Slask Wroclaw.
And now he is taking the patient approach while the player makes up his mind.
“Tom Hateley is a player we have spoken to,” confirmed Hartley.
“We have made him an offer but we’re just waiting to hear back. I think he’s got a few offers on the table, though.
“Hopefully we can hear in the next 24 to 48 hours where we’re at with Tom.
“He’s got good experience in the top flight here in Scotland. When I spoke to him, I didn’t have to sell him the league.
“He has been playing in a good league in Poland for the last couple of years so I think he would be a great addition to our squad.
“He’s just weighing up his offers now though. It’s quite a common thing nowadays that if a player gets an offer from down south there’s not a lot we can do to compete with the money they have.”
Hartley also confirmed Dundee have not returned with an improved offer for Stevie Mallan after last week’s bid for the midfielder was rejected by St Mirren.
And neither will he be taking his interest in former Auxerre winger Lynel Kitambala any further following the Frenchman’s trial stint this week.
One man who has signed this week is former Nice defender Kevin Gomis and he could make his Dundee debut against Motherwell at Fir Park on Saturday.
Hartley said: “Kevin’s played at the highest level in France with Nice and has a good pedigree. He’s trained well all week and the way he’s performed has really pleased me.
“Is it a coup to get hold of a player like him? Hopefully. Time will tell but if he can perform the way he has in training I’ll be pleased.
“He’s got a good presence about him, picks the right choices and gets into good areas. He’s good on the ball and quick, so I’m hoping he can be a good fit for us.”
Dundee started the season impressively as they saw off Ross County in Dingwall.
But they followed up with a disjointed loss to Rangers and then last Friday’s stalemate with Hamilton.
Now Hartley expects to see an improvement against Well.
He said: “I’ll be looking for a big improvement performance-wise. We managed to get a point against Accies but overall the performance wasn’t good enough.
“The players know that, though. We had a big discussion during the week so I expect a much better display on Saturday.”
