When Zlatan Ibrahimovic is still strutting his stuff for AC Milan at the age of 40, Dundee United fans can rest easy over their club’s capture of a striker who’s just a youngster by comparison at 35.
United may be playing catch-up in the signing stakes but, in Steven Fletcher and Dylan Levitt, they’ve made giant strides in adding serious quality to the squad.
The Welsh midfielder’s star qualities are well known to Arabs and with the capture of the former Scotland striker with over 250 goals to his name, their threat capability has just been raised several notches.
Several more additions are still needed for a season which promises to be more competitive than the last and the calibre of recruit United are aiming for has been highlighted by these two top acquisitions.
With a good European run being targeted Jack Ross will need players with craft, graft, and guile.
At 35, Fletcher isn’t in the first flush of youth but regular readers know my scathing views on biological clock worriers.
Modern dietary and sports science advice, allied to player aptitude and attitude, along with good fortune in injury absence, make the passing years less relevant than ever, as Ibrahimovic who turns 41 next October, proves.
Fletcher should provide the ideal physical foil and link option for the creative intelligence and running strengths of Tony Watt up front.
Meantime, Levitt can offer another great season and I’d expect United to have built in a big sell-on fee for a sparkling talent who can strengthen his reputation further in Qatar with Wales, ahead of a big money move back to England in a year’s time.
I’m hearing impressive things about training, coaching and the overall methodology of new Dark Blues boss Gary Bowyer.
With their season starting this weekend though, it’s on the pitch where progress will be revealed.
His first signing from Wrexham, Tyler French, a wing back, has already played for Bowyer and offers pace aplenty, according to his manager.
That quality will be important, with the onus on Dundee to attack against opponents who are likely to sit-in and defend deep at Dens.
There has been limited movement in at Dundee and further strengthening will be required for a season where supporter expectations will be for the Dee to be superior to the competition and secure an immediate return to the Premiership.
St Johnstone have been the busiest of the three full-time teams in this patch.
Callum Davidson has made solid signings in Jamie Murphy, Andy Considine, Drey Wright, Graham Carey and Adam Montgomery.
There’s plenty of experience and know-how in there but, for me, there’s one key issue to be addressed, and that’s how to replace Zander Clark.
The Saints keeper, who has been linked with Stoke City and Dundee United, has been immense between the sticks for them in a decade at the club, but his departure leaves a gap as big as the eight-feet-high, 23-feet-long measurements of the posts which he’s vacated.
Just as rivals United face a major challenge in replacing Benjamin Siegrist, Saints dilemma is how to compensate for the loss of their goalkeeping behemoth.
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