DUNDEE’S plans to loan striker Martin Boyle to Alloa Athletic until the end of the season ran aground last night.
The SFL informed the Second Division side that Boyle could not play for the Wasps or anyone other than Dundee or Montrose between now and the end of this campaign.
The 19-year-old striker had featured for the Gable Endies this season in games in the Ramsdens Cup, Scottish Communities League Cup and in the Third Division, before playing for Barry Smith’s Dark Blues in 10 games after being transferred to them in August.
At present, rules introduced by the SFA allow players to sign for three clubs in one season.
However, they can only play for two, which means that while Boyle could sign for the Recreation Park side on loan, he could not play for them.
Meanwhile, Dundee boss Barry Smith had told his young players to follow the Craig Forsyth example and come back to Dens better players.
Forsyth, one of the biggest talents to take the field for the Dark Blues in recent years, made his debut as a raw 16-year-old in November 2006.
In order to get game time, though, he was farmed out to, first, Montrose then Arbroath, where he gained first-team experience and returned to his parent club a more rounded performer.
Having seen how a loan spell has worked wonders for Forsyth and others, Smith had no hesitation in sending Jamie Reid out to Stenhousemuir this week, while striker Leighton McIntosh is at Montrose on a season-long loan.
“I don’t think we need to look any further than Craig Forsyth to see how it can work well for both player and club,” he said.
“He went out to first Montrose and then Arbroath, playing a lot of games for them, and came back to Dundee a better player.
“He went on to play in our first team and did extremely well for us before moving on eventually.
“So that is why we are doing this for those two players.”