Calendar An icon of a desk calendar. Cancel An icon of a circle with a diagonal line across. Caret An icon of a block arrow pointing to the right. Email An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of the Facebook "f" mark. Google An icon of the Google "G" mark. Linked In An icon of the Linked In "in" mark. Logout An icon representing logout. Profile An icon that resembles human head and shoulders. Telephone An icon of a traditional telephone receiver. Tick An icon of a tick mark. Is Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes. Is Not Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes with a diagonal line through it. Pause Icon A two-lined pause icon for stopping interactions. Quote Mark A opening quote mark. Quote Mark A closing quote mark. Arrow An icon of an arrow. Folder An icon of a paper folder. Breaking An icon of an exclamation mark on a circular background. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Caret An icon of a caret arrow. Clock An icon of a clock face. Close An icon of the an X shape. Close Icon An icon used to represent where to interact to collapse or dismiss a component Comment An icon of a speech bubble. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Ellipsis An icon of 3 horizontal dots. Envelope An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Home An icon of a house. Instagram An icon of the Instagram logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. Magnifying Glass An icon of a magnifying glass. Search Icon A magnifying glass icon that is used to represent the function of searching. Menu An icon of 3 horizontal lines. Hamburger Menu Icon An icon used to represent a collapsed menu. Next An icon of an arrow pointing to the right. Notice An explanation mark centred inside a circle. Previous An icon of an arrow pointing to the left. Rating An icon of a star. Tag An icon of a tag. Twitter An icon of the Twitter logo. Video Camera An icon of a video camera shape. Speech Bubble Icon A icon displaying a speech bubble WhatsApp An icon of the WhatsApp logo. Information An icon of an information logo. Plus A mathematical 'plus' symbol. Duration An icon indicating Time. Success Tick An icon of a green tick. Success Tick Timeout An icon of a greyed out success tick. Loading Spinner An icon of a loading spinner. Facebook Messenger An icon of the facebook messenger app logo. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Facebook Messenger An icon of the Twitter app logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. WhatsApp Messenger An icon of the Whatsapp messenger app logo. Email An icon of an mail envelope. Copy link A decentered black square over a white square.

Dundee United ‘close’ to signing ‘exciting’ attacker says boss Tam Courts as he lifts lid on transfer frustrations

Dundee United boss Tam Courts.
Dundee United boss Tam Courts.

He won’t celebrate until the ink is dry but Dundee United boss Tam Courts hopes their transfer drought will be over by next week.

It’s been almost a month since United last signed someone – goalkeeper Trevor Carson – but Courts is optimistic they’ll be welcoming a new face to Tannadice soon.

The Tangerines boss says they are “close” to sealing a deal for an “exciting” attacking player.

The Terrors are monitoring the situation of their former frontman, Marc McNulty, out of the picture at Reading, and are also swatting away suitors for talisman Lawrence Shankland.

New signing would ‘excite the fans’

“We do need to strengthen up top, we do,” Courts said.

“We’re really close with one.

“I wouldn’t say the Biro’s coming out to sign something but we’re almost within touching distance with that.

Tam Courts.

“You never want to jinx anything because the thing you realise with recruitment is it’s so complex.

“Until it’s signed, sealed and delivered we can’t celebrate.

“If we secure this player, it’s exciting and one that will certainly excite the fans and team-mates, too.”

Courts understands fan frustration

Courts admits to frustrations at not being able to get deals done in a swift fashion and insists he understands fans hold similar feelings.

He’s called for patience over the lack of incomings at Tannadice, setting his sights on next week for new faces.

The United gaffer continued: “We just need to be patient until that point where it comes in.

“We would’ve loved to have been further ahead with two or three.

“A couple were in the public domain and there’s reasons why we lost out on them.

Trevor Carson is Dundee United’s most-recent signing.

“Not because they chose to go elsewhere but because of internal decisions, so sometimes you’ve just got to be a little bit bolder and braver to not react to the marketplace.

“I’d like to think there’d be one in the building next week. That’s how it’s looking just now.

“I’d love it to be quicker and be in a position like other managers are in the league with their team assembled and we could’ve done all the pre-season work with them.

“That’s not what I’ve inherited here.

“What the existing playing group here expect from me is to be measured, calm and patient, even when the fans are desperate to see someone new in tangerine, which I totally understand.”

‘Healthy competition’ needed

Since promotion to the Premiership last season, there’s been little change in United’s playing ranks.

It’s something Courts is aware of and says he believes new signings are needed and would only be healthy for the club.

He added: “I think our current group of players probably need two things.

“Healthy competition that new faces bring and also a little bit of motivation that they’ve got help.

“I really do believe in this squad here.

“We’ve got good professionals but I also think we need to add consistently to have different personalities and options to keep us thriving.”

To sign up for our dedicated Dundee United, Dundee and St Johnstone newsletters, click HERE.

EXCLUSIVE: Marc McNulty on longlist of targets as Dundee United throw out Lawrence Shankland bid