Raith Rovers striker Gregory Tade will be playing his football in the SPL next season with Inverness Caley Thistle.
The Frenchman, who is still tied to Rovers until the end of this month, has signed a one-year pre-contract deal with the Highland club.
Tade had been linked with a host of other teams including St Johnstone and SPL new boys Dunfermline but has opted to move to Inverness as he believes Terry Butcher’s side’s style of football best suits him.
Tade was represented in the negotiations by former St Mirren and Aberdeen star Ricky Gillies, who is part of the Pro Legal Sports Management team which is working in partnership with the Professional Footballers’ Association (PFA) Scotland.
Tade said, “I am delighted to be going to Inverness.
“I will sign for a year with the option of another. I have not met Terry Butcher yet as I left all that to Ricky. I fully trust him and he has sorted everything out behind the scenes for me.
“I believe I am going to the right club and I am looking forward to the challenge of playing in the SPL.”
He added, “I will never forget my time at Raith Rovers though. They are a great club with wonderful fans.
“I also owe the manager John McGlynn an enormous debt of gratitude. He does wonders there and hopefully I can line up against Rovers one day soon in the SPL.”‘Watertight contracts’Gillies admitted that there were other sides interested in signing Tade but he would not be drawn on their identities.
“Yes, there were a lot of clubs keeping track of Gregory but Terry Butcher came in very early and showed his hand,” he said.
“There were different options available to Gregory but we felt this was the best one from a footballing perspective because of the way they play the game.”
He added, “I played with Gregory at Stranraer late in my career so I have known him for years.
“This is a fantastic opportunity for him to kick on his career. He will be moving up there and he is looking forward to the challenge.
“He really loved his time at Rovers but every player wants to play at as high a level as possible.”
Gillies who works alongside former Dundee FC and Dundee United striker James Grady as well as ex-Blackburn star Mike Newell explained that his company has players’ best interests at heart.
He said, “Our firm works with the PFA in Scotland to help players make informed choices.
“We aim to give them top advice to take the right career decisions and to ensure they have watertight contracts.”