New striker Farid El Alagui believes he will be a perfect fit for Dundee United because of the club’s forward-thinking philosophy.
The Tangerines’ loan signing from Brentford is likely to make a quickfire debut against Inverness Caley Thistle and he is confident he can take advantage of chances made by United’s attacking talents.
Indeed, El Alagui was aware of United’s creative players like Ryan Gauld and Gary Mackay-Steven even while living in London, taking the time to watch clips of their games online and on TV.
So he can’t wait to link up with his new Tannadice teammates, starting with the Scottish Premiership clash in the Highland capital.
“I know all about the young United players,” said the French-born former Falkirk frontman.
“I think it’s important to keep up to date with what’s happening all over in football and that’s why I watched United.
“I had seen a few clips of highlights on the internet and on Sky Sports and I was impressed with the talent and the attacking football.
“I was aware of them even though I was playing in England and that’s why it is so pleasing to now join them and I can’t wait to play with them.
“Once I knew I was moving to United then I watched more highlights to see even more of the football they play and to make sure I knew what I’m coming to.”
“Ryan Gauld is a good player and so is Gary Mackay-Steven but there are plenty of others.
“I am sure they will create chances for me and that is one of the main reasons I decided to come here.
“Playing in an attacking team was the deciding factor for me. I need that and I hope it works out.
“When I drove up on Thursday I had a big smile on my face as I drove across the border from England into Scotland after my time here before with Falkirk.
“I think Dundee United are a really good club in Scotland and everyone knows about them.
“I played against them when I was at Falkirk and I thought they were a really good team even then,”
The game in question was a League Cup quarter-final tie in October 2011, in which El Alagui opened the scoring for the Bairns.
The tie finished 2-2 after extra-time, with Falkirk winning the penalty shoot-out.
“My memory of that is a good one because we went through,” he added.
“I remember it was a tough game against a strong team with some very talented United players.
“I was lucky to score that night and we went through on penalties so it was a good night.”
The striker had already made a name for himself with the First Division club by then and the fiollowing summer he won a move down to Brentford.
Latterly has he struggled to start matches and he has still managed to make an impact coming off the bench for the Bees.
He is hoping for more regular starts with United, saying: “When you are a footballer and you don’t play then you feel like something is missing.
“The main thing for you is playing football so it’s difficult when you can’t do that. I feel hungry to play and also have a little bit of a point to prove.
“At Brentford I got injured in my first season for five or six months and when I returned a few strikers were already playing so it was hard to get back in front of them. That’s fair enough.
“The injury was a big set-back but I feel fit now and ready to start against Inverness. I trained at Brentford even when I wasn’t starting matches recently so I feel fit.
“I want to show I can play at a higher level and still score goals.
“If things work out well here and people are pleased with me then we can definitely talk about extending things, with my contract at Brentford finishing in June.”
United manager Jackie McNamara, who is also looking to sign a new defender, all but confirmed El Alagui will get a debut.
And it has been made all the likelier due to Nadir Ciftci being injured.
“Farid will be in my thoughts,” said the Tannadice boss.
“Hopefully, this deal is a good one for us until the end of the season. I came up against him during my time at Thistle and he’s a real handful.
“So we are hoping with the amount of crosses we put into the box that with him, Brian Graham and Nadir that we can capitalise on that.
“Farid is good in the air but he can finish on the deck as well and attacks the ball well.
“As for the others, we are waiting to see how Gavin Gunning, John Rankin–he hurt his groin the other day–and Nadir are as we get closer to the game.”