New St Johnstone striker Nadir Ciftci will be a dream for his own defenders and a nightmare for those of the opposition, according to former Dundee United team-mate Sean Dillon.
Speaking on The Courier’s Talking Football podcast, Dillon gave an insight into the qualities the Tannadice cult hero brings to McDiarmid Park.
Ciftci will execute whatever game-plan Saints boss Callum Davidson gives him, taking pressure off the Saints backline.
And Dillon believes the Turkish centre-forward will also provide “off the cuff magic”.
“He’s a gem of a fella and a super player,” said the veteran Montrose centre-back.
“Some of the goals he created were immense.
“I remember we were up in Inverness and I launched a ball up the pitch. It was just a clearance from my own box that turned into one of my many assists!
“Nadir was at the half-way line.
“It was a 2 v 1. He picks up the ball and five or six seconds later, it’s in the back of the net.
“He’s a player who can create something from nothing.
“Nadir has that ability to swivel and hit. Boom. Goal. Out of nowhere.”
Dillon added: “He brought other people into the game with his link-up play.
“That’s a massive thing for a team.
“If you’re a centre-back, you’re under pressure, you play the ball up to your striker and it’s back on top of you again the pressure’s not being relieved and you can’t get up the pitch.
“If you have somebody like Nadir, he’ll hold it up and give you the opportunity to take a break at the back and bring midfielders into the game.
“He’ll draw a foul, which is another part of taking pressure off at the back. It’s a massive part of the game.
“I haven’t seen much of St Johnstone recently so I wouldn’t comment on what they need.
“But I think he’ll bring excitement.
“I’d like to think he’s still got that ‘maverick’ thing about him and will do stuff off the cuff.
“He’s very good at taking on board instructions and doing what a manager asks. It wasn’t as if he just went out there and did what he wanted.
“But I also think he has to have a bit of freedom about his play and be given the opportunity to come up with some magic, which you know he can produce.”
This Day 2013 | Nadir Çiftçi signs for United✍️
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After impressing in pre-season, Nadir penned a two-year deal at Tannadice. The Turk would go on to arguably become the biggest United cult hero of the modern era, scoring 33 goals in 82 matches🇹🇷🍊| #DUFC pic.twitter.com/AYA5Yn0ZV2— OurDUFC (@OurDUFC) July 25, 2021
Dillon has heard Ciftci is already looking like the player he remembers.
“By all accounts he’s had a good start in training,” said the Irishman.
“I spoke to Cammy Ballantyne, who plays with us at Montrose and trains with St Johnstone. Bally was saying how good he was looking.
“I’ll get a chance to catch up with him properly soon and I hope it goes really well for him at St Johnstone.
“I know he has a bit of a reputation for being a bit nuts but everybody who crosses the white line has a bit of madness about them!
“He’s very family-orientated. Now he’s got a little girl of his own, a few months old.
“He’s certainly someone I’ve got a lot of time for and I’ve kept in touch with him over the years, on and off.”
2014 myth
Dillon, who was United captain when they lost to Saints in the 2014 Scottish Cup final, dismissed suggestions that the Perth players got under Ciftci’s skin that day and managed to put him off his game.
“Personally, I don’t think that was the case,” he said.
“I’m not saying it was Nadir’s best match but I wouldn’t pay much attention to that.
“That cup final was a heartbreak and probably the biggest disappointment of my career, being the captain and not getting to lift the cup.
“His free-kick was a joke – how it didn’t go in.
“The fact it landed underneath the keeper and hit his backside after coming down off the crossbar onto the line.
“And there was Ryan Dow’s chance off the post, across, behind the goalkeeper and out the other side.”
