Dundee are ticking every box this summer.
New manager the fans are excited by? Check.
Top prospects signed up on extended contracts? Check.
New recruits who are either on the upswing of their career or know what’s required in the Premiership? Check.
And then, just when it was starting to look like an impressive, but by-the-book, team-building close season, they went and signed Antonio Portales.
Talk about left-field!
When I read about the Mexican signing for the club, I had to check my calendar to make sure it wasn’t the year 2000 again.
That’s what Portales’ signing reminded me of – Ivano Bonetti’s reign as manager!
Signing boys from the other side of the world became the norm round about that time. You’d hear of another one and you’d just shrug and get on with it.
This time it’s very different.
As I’ve said previously, all the squad work Tony Docherty has done so far has been really sensible – you can see the thinking that has gone into it.
There are wee gambles with a couple of younger players who haven’t played in the Premiership before, but they’ve been covered by the more experienced guys who’ve either arrived or signed new deals.
Portales is a real “out of nowhere” signing.
I’m not surprised he has captured the imagination of fans already.
There’s real romance at the heart of the story – a guy moving thousands of miles from home for the first time to chase his dream.
He’ll have the backing of every single Dundee fan, that’s a guarantee.
And the fact he’s talking about getting into the Mexican national team is a sign, for me, that he’s the right sort of player for Dundee to be targeting.
This is a guy who has big ambitions. He’s joined the Dark Blues because he feels they can help him achieve them.
And what are Dundee going to get on the pitch?
An “old school defender” if Tony Docherty’s assessment is correct.
That’s a description I love.
These days – especially at the top level of the game – you think about centre halves as players who are comfortable in possession and can spread the play around.
That’s great if you can get it.
But Dundee’s defensive strength will come from defenders being able to defend first and foremost.
It sounds to me like their Mexican recruit fits that bill perfectly.
He’s tough enough to mix it on the pitch. Whether he’s tough enough to cope with a Scottish winter, we’ll soon find out.
