Dundee United have made a bold move to bring former favourite Nadir Ciftci back to Tannadice.
But the chances of the striker wearing Tangerine again are likely to hinge on whether or not current employers Celtic can offload him permanently during the transfer window.
Ciftci scored 33 goals in 82 appearances for the club between 2013 and 2015 after being snapped up as a free agent by former boss Jackie McNamara.
His time at Tannadice ended when he moved to Parkhead in a £1.5 million deal at the end of the season before last.
The Turkish-born frontman was then loaned out to Eskisehirspor in his homeland last term.
This season, under new manager Brendan Rodgers, he did play in the Champions League qualifier against Maltese minnows Lincoln Red Imps in July but has not been involved in any first-team action since.
With United boss Ray McKinnon in the market for another attacker, that prompted an attempt to bring the 24-year-old in on an emergency loan.
That was knocked back by Celtic but the Tele understands if there appears to be little chance of moving him on in the January window, they would be willing to allow Ciftci to head back to his old stomping ground — but that would mean United having to wait another month.
And, while Ray would not comment on any possible deal for Ciftci, his actions this week show he is not willing to wait around to bolster his squad.
He’s confirmed he’s given a trial to 24-year-old Dutch attacker Felitciano Zschusschen, who started training with the first-team squad yesterday.
“He’s come highly recommended from a friend in Holland and I have to say when I watched a video of him I was very impressed,” said Ray.
“So far he has looked good in training.
“He’s a big unit, he has ability and we’ll just see how he does.”
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