As the clock ticks towards the final few hours of the transfer window, the chance remains there will be a flurry of late activity on Tannadice Street.
Looking to the south side first, that Dundee are trying, or at least should be, to further bolster their squad is a given.
Momentarily pushing to one side the need for more quality, simply in terms of numbers, manager Neil McCann’s first-team group looks light.
Over the summer there have been 13 departures – with another expected as Craig Wighton heads to Hearts – and although four of them are out on loan, of that number only young defender Kerr Waddell is likely to be seen back at Dens Park.
While the squad last term was on the big side, with the number of additions so far standing having risen to eight with Kenny Miller’s arrival, it’s understandable if the manager would like another one or two in as Wighton’s departure leaves him with the same number of bodies.
Looking at areas where improvement is required, the obvious conclusion is adding a player like Miller, who can add goals, was a must.
Despite rattling four past Stirling Albion in their opening Betfred Cup outing last month, in eight outings the Dark Blues have averaged just over a goal-a-game.
Three league fixtures have produced just a single strike – Elton Ngwatala’s fine effort at St Mirren. When you add the 3-0 home defeat to Ayr United in the Betfred the other week, the goals for column makes for grim reading.
If that’s not depressing enough, you have to go back to Jean Mendy’s late counter at Peterhead six games ago for the last time a striker netted.
Mendy is, of course, still settling into life in Scottish football, while Finn Benjamin Kallman only arrived a couple of weeks back.
And while, that Ayr nightmare apart, defensively they’ve not been too bad, with former club captain Darren O’Dea out of first-team reckoning to the extent it would be no surprise if he moves on, another centre-half would be welcome.
There must also still be a chance of someone coming in for Steven Caulker and, if that happens without a replacement secured, you’d have to wonder if an early return from his loan at Morton would be on the cards for Waddell.
Looking to United, if the window closes without further additions, Arabs would not have much to complain about.
This summer has seen 13 arrivals and that might well be enough to meet gaffer Csaba Laszlo’s needs as he rebuilds his squad.
Csaba, though, has said he would make a further addition if something “special” became available and over the past week or so he’s indicated another central defender and even a midfielder are on his list.
That said, the performance of Paul Watson in last weekend’s win over Partick may have persuaded the manager to settle for the defensive options he has.
Regarded as a signing made to cover the central area of the defence when he arrived from Falkirk, Watson grabbed the limelight with two goals against the Jags and also put in a strong performance at the back.
And while the fans will be concentrating on who might be coming in, there is a fair chance there will be a departure or two.
By tonight men like Paul McMullan, James Keatings, Tam Scobbie and William Edjenguele may no longer be United players.
And if that’s the case, Csaba would have the space and cash to potentially offer contracts to trialists Martin Woods and Mathias Thrane, both of whom have been training with the Tangerines.
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