Dundee are no stranger to massive summer squad overhauls.
A year ago Tony Docherty brought in 16 players and pushed the Dark Blues into their first top-six finish since 2015.
That 2015 outfit was itself the product of a summer overhaul.
Building for the return to Premiership football, Paul Hartley was busy in the market, making 14 summer signings.
And it worked.
Those 14 Dundee signings all arrived 10 years ago this summer – where are they now?
1. Greg Stewart
The first capture turned out to be the crucial one. Greg Stewart was lined up on a pre-contract from Cowdenbeath in April.
He was an absolute star for the Dark Blues over two superb seasons before his form earned a big-money move to Birmingham City.
Returning to Dundee has been mooted a couple of times but now Stewart turns out for Premiership rivals Kilmarnock.
In between he’s had spells with Rangers, Aberdeen, Jamshedpur and played in the Asian Champions League with Mumbai City and has title wins in Scotland and India.
2. Phil Roberts
Former Arsenal kid Phil Roberts was snapped up after impressing on the wing for Falkirk.
However, he didn’t make much of an impact in the dark blue of the Dee. Starting off suspended, Roberts would only make 10 appearances before heading to Ireland with Sligo Rovers.
His career since has been in the English non-league – playing for 15 clubs since leaving Dens in 2015.
Roberts scored three goals in 14 appearances for Margate in the Isthmian League last season, where the 30-year-old is player-coach.
3. Scott Bain
Goalkeeper Bain was next in, joining from Hartley’s former club Alloa where he’d won promotion from League Two to the Championship.
Bain would become a big player for the Dee before heading to Celtic.
He remains at Parkhead, having played 77 times in seven seasons.
4. James McPake
By the end of May, the shopping spree was speeding up. A big double signing arrived with two future skippers arriving on the same day in McPake and Kevin Thomson.
McPake would quickly endear himself to the Dundee support and spent almost eight years at the club as player, coach, head of youth and then first-team manager.
The 39-year-old is now manager at Championship Dunfermline.
5. Kevin Thomson
Thomson had enjoyed a fine career at Hibs, Rangers and Middlesbrough and had earned three Scotland caps too.
The central midfielder would add real quality to Dundee but injuries were an issue. He did play 38 times over 18 months before re-joining Hibs.
Thomson would retire shortly afterwards and has since become a successful manager, winning League Two with Kelty Hearts before leaving them in 2022.
6. Simon Ferry
Dundonian Ferry had enjoyed a strong career down south with Swindon and Portsmouth.
He would play 22 times for his boyhood club in the season to come but departed just a year later, with the former Celtic kid admitting he hadn’t been good enough.
Just shy of 200 appearances followed for Peterhead before moving into coaching alongside the very successful Open Goal podcast.
7. Paul McGowan
An absolute stalwart and fans favourite Paul McGowan also arrived 10 years ago this summer.
McGowan would play more than 300 matches for the club over nine seasons, becoming a mainstay under multiple managers.
‘Gowser’ left to rejoin Paul Hartley at Cove Rangers last summer but was released last month.
8. Paul McGinn
Right-back McGinn joined from Championship Dumbarton on the same day as McGowan.
McGinn was first-choice for two seasons but left for Chesterfield in 2016 as Cammy Kerr emerged in the position.
He’s since been a constant in the Premiership with spells for Partick Thistle, St Mirren, Hibs and now Motherwell.
McGinn also earned a Scotland cap in 2021 in a win away to Austria.
9. Gary Harkins
Two spells at Dens Park wasn’t enough for the mercurial Gary Harkins as he signed on for a third time.
And again delighted Dees with his ability in midfield. ‘GGH’ played 66 times over two seasons before moving on to Ayr United.
Spells at Morton, Queen of the South and Partick Thistle followed in the Championship before dropping to League Two with Stenhousemuir and Forfar.
At Forfar he was player-coach along with former Dee team-mate Gary Irvine before the pair left Station Park in November 2022.
10. Grant Adam
Dundonian goalkeeper Adam joined the club on a short-term deal but didn’t feature in the first team.
The younger brother of Charlie Adam would go on to play for Morton, Cowdenbeath and Forfar Athletic before moving into junior football with Downfield and now Lochee United.
11. Thomas Konrad
Paul Hartley enjoyed a double signing and there was another to come as German trialists Konrad and Tankulic earned deals.
Centre-back Konrad would enjoy the better spell of the duo and retains a good relationship with the club’s fans.
Over two seasons he played 69 times, scoring once. He left in 2016 to join Liechtenstein club Vaduz where he won their FA Cup.
Konrad would then return to Germany and turned out for Viktoria Berlin, Osnabruck and FSV Frankfurt in the lower leagues.
He is now head scout at Karlsruhe.
12. Luka Tankulic
Striker Tankulic impressed in pre-season with a fine goal against Manchester City but failed to replicate that quality in the Premiership.
He would score three times in 32 matches but made more substitute appearances than starts.
He’d stick around just one year before returning to the German lower leagues, with Sportfreunde Lotte and then SV Meppen where he scored 31 times in 135 matches.
Tankulic is now player-coach at hometown club Rot-Weiss Ahlen in the fourth tier.
13. Dylan Carreiro
Canada youth international Carreiro was another who impressed on trial after leaving QPR’s youth setup.
The 19-year-old was seen as someone who could be “in with the bricks” at Dens Park when he signed.
It didn’t work out, however, and after three appearances and a spell in League Two at Arbroath, Carreiro headed back to Canada.
He’s since turned out for Woodbridge Strikers, Vaughan Azzurri and Valour FC in the Canadian Premier League where he made 31 appearances.
Despite being only 29, Carreiro has hung up his boots and is now an agent.
14. David Clarkson
Former Motherwell man Clarkson was a late addition in September but would grab an incredible club record of scoring in his first eight games for the club.
The next 17 would bring just one goal, however, and he was released at the end of the season.
Clarkson then returned to Motherwell before finishing his career at St Mirren.
He is now academy director at Fir Park.
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