Jim Goodwin has predicted a “busy summer” as Dundee United seek to build upon a solid – and potentially superb – maiden campaign back in the Premiership.
The Tangerines snapped up 13 signings following their Championship title triumph, and further strengthened with the arrivals of Allan Campbell, Lewis Fiorini and Ruari Paton during the winter window.
Many of those captures have played a significant part in United’s rise to third spot, with top six football and a European push still a tantalising possibility despite a recent dip.
And Goodwin and head of recruitment Michael Cairney have already started work on their summer recruitment drive.
“I think our recruitment will follow a similar pattern when the window opens in the summer,” said Goodwin.
“We have a strategy in place. I work closely with Michael Cairney, and I’ve given him the profile of the kind of players we want. He’s out there doing his job. He’s doing a lot of travelling in Europe and the UK, building up a database of players.
“It is about adding quality and continuing to move forward. That means it will be a mix of players from the domestic market, and from further afield.
“We have loans who will go back to their parent clubs and players out of contract so it will be a busy summer.
“I think the recruitment we did last summer was very good so we will be looking to build on that and hopefully enhance the squad.”
Vicko Sevelj: The blueprint
And Goodwin has hinted that United will continue to scour Eastern Europe for talent following the success of Vicko Sevelj – a contender for the Terrors’ player of the year – and early impact of Kristijan Trapanovski.
“A lot of it comes down to finance,” added Goodwin. “The foreign markets are certainly more attractive right now when it comes to the salaries you can get players for.
“In some of the Eastern European countries, you can get good value.
“In the Scottish and English market, there’s a real level of inflation with the wage demands people are making.
“It’s very hard for teams in the Scottish Premiership, outwith the big boys, to compete with clubs down south. So, it’s about having a pragmatic approach.
“The European market has been good to us. We have brought in Vicko Sevelj, who has been excellent. Kristijan Trapanovski has shown everyone what he’s capable of.
“Injuries have curtailed him a little bit, so we are getting him back up to speed and back to form.”
Goodwin added: “Then you have the loan market, which has been very important for us as well. The loans allow you add a bit of quality that you wouldn’t be able to afford otherwise.”
“I would see our recruitment being another blend of all three next summer.”
Contract talks loom
Meanwhile, Goodwin will soon turn his attention to talks with those first team players who are out of contract in the summer.
Captain Ross Docherty, Declan Gallagher, Louis Moult, Kevin Holt, and Glenn Middleton are among a host of senior stars who are already free to discuss terms with potential suitors.
Goodwin previously stated that negotiations would be placed on the back burner until the winter transfer window concluded.
And he added: “We will be having discussions with players about the future in the next few days and weeks. We’re looking at everything just now and working on our plans for the end of the season.”
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