Dundee United boss Jackie McNamara has admitted he is looking forward to working with Hull full-back Conor Townsend.
The 21-year-old defender is set to travel north to link up with the Tangerines on a one-year loan as part of the deal that has taken Andy Robertson to the KC Stadium.
The Scotland star finally sealed his £2.85 million move to Steve Bruce’s Premier League side, putting pen to paper on a three-year contract with Hull.
McNamara said: “Young Conor has joined us on a year’s loan deal. So we’re trying to get him up here as soon as possible and get working with him.
“We’re delighted to get Conor in. It gives us the chance to now work with him. He was on loan at Carlisle last season.
“I put a few phone calls in and he comes very highly recommended. Hopefully he’ll do a good job for us. It’s a good opportunity for him.
“He had a lot of first-team games for Carlisle last season but this will be a step up for him. Now we’re looking forward to seeing how he settles into the squad.
“For me, it would have been ideal to have got someone in at left-back a couple of weeks ago so it would help our preparations for the new season.
“We’ve only got one more friendly left against Leeds United this weekend, and then we’re back into the real stuff when the league starts.
“But we’d still rather have this than have it happen on the last day of the transfer window.”
While obviously disappointed to lose a player of Robertson’s calibre, McNamara admitted that it is a “life-changing” move for the 20-year-old.
He believes the sky’s the limit for the full-back, who has already achieved so much in what was only his first season of full-time football with United.
McNamara said: “Andrew has made great strides. He has been so mature in his approach since the first day he came here and just takes everything in his stride.
“Even going down there, he hadn’t fully made his mind up because he was enjoying his football so much. It’s life-changing for him but it’s not all about the money.
“That was never his motivation. It’s about playing football. I’m delighted for him. He just wanted to go full-time so much and obviously it’s worked out very well for him.
“I am so proud of what he’s achieved so far in his career and I’m sure he’ll go on to do great things for both Hull and Scotland.”
United are expected to net almost £3 million from Robertson’s transfer, with his former club Queen’s Park also set to benefit with 10% of the fee going to the Spiders.
However, McNamara admitted that he was irked by suggestions that United had not acted correctly when they snapped up Robertson from the amateur outfit.
He added: “It’s a lot of money which we’re getting for Andrew Robertson just compare it to what we got for Johnny Russell when he left, or David Goodwillie when he left a few years ago.
“I have to say that I saw some comments from Queen’s Park about how we’ve dealt with things. I think we’ve dealt with it very well.
“We paid money for Andrew and for Blair (Spittal) and did things properly. They’re going to benefit from it hugely too so I hope they appreciate it.
“We’ve helped them as much as they’ve helped us. It’s worked out well for both clubs.”