Dundee boss Tony Docherty says the departure of goalkeeper Jon McCracken can help Dundee in their pursuit of fresh acquisitions elsewhere.
The Norwich City man was recalled by his parent club after Tim Krul moved to Premier League new boys Luton Town, leaving the Championship side a goalkeeper down.
McCracken had seen his place in goal at Dundee taken by new signing Trevor Carson for their most recent match, a 2-1 defeat at St Mirren.
Carson had been a target before former Hamilton Accies youngster McCracken arrived on a season-long loan and then was subsequently signed for a reported six-figure fee.
And Docherty says the decision to head back to Carrow Road was made by the young goalkeeper himself.
“Jon had done a great job for us, we were all impressed. But he got the call from his parent club,” Docherty explained.
“He made the decision. I wanted him to stay here and fight for his place but he made the decision. He thought it would be better to go and be the No 2 at Norwich.
“He thought it would be a good proposition to go back with the club recalling him.
“There was absolutely no ill-feeling. He’d done a good job for us.
“With Trevor Carson coming in he felt his game time might be limited and the appeal of going to Norwich and being No 2, getting game time there, he thought was a better option for him.”
Three goalkeepers?
In pre-season, the new Dundee boss told of his preference to have three goalkeepers in his squad.
Now, though, he’s down to two with the experienced pair of Carson and Adam Legzdins to call on with Harry Sharp having joined Dunfermline on loan.
Docherty, though, says he’s in no rush to bring the number back up to three.
“I’m happy with the two I’ve got but I’ll continue to make sure there is real competition for places in every part of the team,” he added.
“But I’m happy with the two I’ve got at the moment.”
‘Prioritise other areas’
McCracken’s departure, though, could help with the desire to bolster midfield options for Docherty.
“Hopefully, we can prioritise other areas now,” he explained.
“There are a couple of things we are looking at, we’re looking at options in midfield at the moment.
“We’re busy working on that now.”
Tyler Onyango
The Dark Blues have been linked with a number of midfielders over the past few weeks, most notably Crystal Palace’s Killian Phillips and Everton man Tyler Onyango.
Phillips has since joined Wycombe Wanderers on loan, making three appearances for the League One side already.
Onyango, meanwhile, came off the bench for Everton in the Premier League on Saturday during their 4-0 defeat at Aston Villa.
But could that deal still be on?
“It would be wrong for me to say that because he’s with another club,” Docherty added.
“But there’s a list of midfielders we’re going through to see which ones are the most attractive and, resource-wise, are available.”
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