Daniels Balodis has left St Johnstone.
The Latvian centre-back, who only joined in January, had a clause in his contract that allowed him to part company with the Perth club if they were relegated.
Head coach, Simo Valakari, didn’t put pressure on Balodis to make a decision on his future while he was on international duty.
But, with Saints returning for pre-season training on Monday, he has informed them he won’t be coming back.
It is understood that Balodis doesn’t yet have a deal in place with another side and will assess what options he has now that his mind has been made up.
The 27-year-old experienced a rollercoaster few months in Scotland.
He scored a winning goal against Celtic and looked the part on a few other occasions.
But he also struggled badly at times, with errors of judgment costing Saints dearly against Motherwell and Kilmarnock after the split.
Valakari would have liked to keep him but knew it was a 50-50 call and the club have been assessing their options to replace him over recent weeks.
Former Morton duo, Jack Baird and Morgan Boyes, have already been signed up but Bozo Mikulic is recovering from ACL surgery and is unlikely to be available until the autumn.
It’s probable Saints will sign another out-and-out centre-half in the near future and a versatile, younger defender later in the window.
Meanwhile, unless there are any last-minute hitches, a new coach will be arriving at the club from abroad next week.
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