Dundee United manager Jackie McNamara will be satisfied with his central defensive options if he can re-sign Curtis Good.
The Tangerines are confident of getting the Australian international back on loan from Newcastle United after a successful spell at Tannadice last term that ended prematurely due to injury.
The player had hoped to have been enjoying the World Cup in Brazil with his country this summer but a hip problem meant he ws left out of Socceroos’ final squad.
Good has undergone surgery to rectify the problem and is now battling back to fitness.
Talks between him and the club have gone well and, if Newcastle agree, it is likely he will be in the Tangerines’ line-up when they face Aberdeen on the opening day of the Premiership season.
Callum Morris has also been recruited from Dunfermline, while Sean Dillon, John Souttar, Calum Butcher and even Keith Watson are other contenders for the heart of the defence.
Therefore, if McNamara can recruit Good again then he will be happy.
“The talks with Curtis have been positive and we are actively seeking to bring him back to the club,” said the United boss.
“He hasn’t recovered from his injury yet but he has had an operation to fix his hip problem and I believe he will be back doing running, possibly next week or the week after that.
“Newcastle are waiting to see what is happening with their squad but I would say that we are positive on that score.
“The speed at which we can get anything done will depend on Newcastle.
“They need to decide if it is something that they want for themselves and Curtis for this year.
“I would, though, hope that it will be done as soon as possible. If we can get Curtis in then I think I would be happy with that.
“We have Callum Morris now and he can play right or left centre half. There are bits to his game where he is possibly lacking and it is up to us to work on it.
“He is maybe not as good on the ball as one or two others but he is a good, solid defender. He is never going to be the finished article at this stage so it is up to us to improve him as a player.”
United report back to training on Monday before flying out to their Dublin base the following week.
While in the Republic of Ireland they will play games against Athlone Town on July 8 and Bohemians in the Irish capital on the 12th.
They return home before heading out to Arnhem in the Netherlands on the 18th, with three games pencilled in against a yet-to-be-named local side, Utrecht and Breda.
The manager was asked if he felt a little envious of other Scottish clubs who will be playing competitive Euriopean football ties instead of friendlies in the weeks and months ahead.
He replied: “There are mixed feelings for me. I said after the Scottish Cup final that we weren’t ready (for Europe) and that was genuine.
“I just felt we didn’t pass the ball well enough at times last season and our possession level and decision-making all have to improve.
“We need to be mentally stronger too. To go into Europe you need to be able to do all these things otherwise you can get embarrassed before the season starts.”
As well as the trips abroad, there is still a prospect of home friendlies on successive Saturdays July 26 and August 2.
United thought they had fixed up a glamour game against Spanish stars Levante but that fell through, while West Ham United were also possible opponents.
He said: “There were one or two teams we thought we had lined up but those games haven’t materialised.
“We were ready to get everyhting signed and sealed. So that leaves us still looking to get two more games in before the season starts.”