Dundee’s Mr Versatile is back in action.
Whether it’s a right-back, centre-back, left-back, holding midfielder, box-to-box midfielder or even goalkeeper as previous managers have joked, Jordan McGhee will play there.
And he’ll play well there.
That’s the view of his new manager Tony Docherty as he welcomes the 26-year-old into the fold.
McGhee had missed the end of last season thanks to a knee injury picked up in April against Raith Rovers.
Dundee were short of one of the leaders in the side but got themselves over the line in the Championship title race.
Back
Now McGhee is back fit and ready for selection. He made his first return to the team in last Saturday’s friendly at Cove Rangers.
And then replaced Cammy Kerr after 67 minutes in the 1-0 win over Bonnyrigg Rose that kicked off the 2023/24 campaign.
Already in two short appearances under Docherty, McGhee has played in central midfield and right-back.
So where does the new Dundee boss see McGhee featuring primarily this season?
“The good thing about Jordan is that he’s just a good footballer,” Docherty told Courier Sport.
“Good footballers can adapt to different positions and I’ve seen him do that throughout his career.
“I remember him coming through as a young kid at Hearts and he played in different roles.
“He’s always been that type of player.
“So he’s a brilliant player to have in the squad. Like big Ash (Lee Ashcroft) and big Joe (Shaughnessy), he has a brilliant attitude to training every day and he’s a role model for the younger ones.
“I’m delighted to have him back in the squad and I was so happy to get him on the pitch again.
“Jordan McGhee will be an important player for me because of his versatility. That’s because he’s a good player. It’s not an easy thing to be able to play in all these positions.
“Whether I employ him at right-back or centre-midfield or centre-back at times as well will depend on what the team needs.
“But he’ll be staking a claim for a few places.”
‘Bolstered’
This week has seen three new faces arrive at Dens Park as they kicked off their Viaplay Cup campaign.
Malachi Boateng signed a season-long loan deal from Crystal Palace on Tuesday while Mexican signings Antonio Portales and Diego Pineda made their long-awaited arrival on Thursday.
McGhee’s return, though, is that old cliché of being like a new signing himself. Or more than one thanks to his ability to play many different positions.
“It definitely feels like that having him back in the squad,” Docherty added.
“This week we bolstered it with a few more.
“We are beginning to get there, we had 18 training at the start of the week which was great.
“Slowly but surely we are getting there.”
