Jim Goodwin accelerates Dundee United transfer plans as Conference League hopes rocked by latest injury setback
Dundee United boss Jim Goodwin is looking to ramp up his recruitment after he confirmed Ryan Strain and Kristijan Trapanovski could both be out for up to 10 weeks.
It is a blow for United to lose the influential pair ahead of Thursday's Europa Conference League clash away to Rapid Vienna.
Strain and Trapanovski have both suffered hamstring injuries and could be out for anything between eight to 10 weeks.
That is on top of captain Ross Graham who is also out with a similar injury and is not due back until at least October.
Goodwin confirmed: 'We've got one or two long-term ones. Ross Graham has been well-documented up to now.
Unfortunately, Ryan Strain will be missing for the next eight to ten weeks, as will Trapanowski, who picked up a hamstring injury in the last European game against Strassen. So those three are out long-term.'
United have also let Jort van de Sande join SC Cambuur and he admitted that another striker is on his wanted list, along with another couple of positions, although Owen Stirton will get his chance.
Goodwin added: 'We had a number of the academy guys come up into the squad but we're hopeful that between now and the next fortnight we'll be able to add another couple of new faces.
'We do want to add another one in that (striker) area but we're not desperate.
'I think the issue that we have at the moment is the likes of (Dario Naamo, (Amar) Fatah, Trapanovski, in the wide areas, is where we're a little bit lighter.
'There are ongoing conversations with players at the moment, as you would expect.'
Goodwin accepts United will go in as underdogs but he is looking for his United team to show their bite. He stated: 'You can see with the facility here, the stadium, the infrastructure, it's a big club. A really well run looking professional outfit.
'They went really far in this competition last season, getting to the quarter-finals. They've done some really good business in the transfer window already.
'They have spent a considerable amount of money in the forward areas. We know it's going to be a difficult tie.
'(The) Last tie against Strassen, for us, we were probably the favourites in a lot of people's eyes, albeit Strassen made life difficult for us.
'I would imagine tomorrow night we'll probably be the underdogs going into the game.
But we have a lot of belief and a lot of confidence in this group.
"We know where we're at in terms of the restrictions in the squad with the injuries we have but that's no excuse. We want to make sure we give a really good account of ourselves.
'We want to put on a good show. We want to show ourselves in a good light.
'We want to show people that the teams from the Scottish Premiership are of a good standard.
'We want to make sure we're still in the tie come the return leg at Tannadice.'
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Metro
5 hours ago
- Metro
Man Utd make contact with Brighton over deal to sign £100m star
Manchester United have approached Brighton over a potential transfer deal to sign their £100m midfielder Carlos Baleba, according to reports. United have 'made contact' with Brighton via intermediaries to explore the conditions of a summer move, The Athletic's David Ornstein has reported. Posting the story on X, Ornstein credited Indykaila, with that transfer insider claiming Brighton want £90m plus 10m in add-ons to sell Baleba. Man Utd, though, value Baleba at £70m and it's thought the player will ask Brighton to reduce their asking price to secure a switch to Old Trafford. The Athletic have stated that 'all sides' have recognised that a move may be 'unrealistic' at this moment in time – especially if the Red Devils sign Benjamin Sesko from RB Leipzig as expected. In The Mixer: Exclusive analysis, FPL tips and transfer talk sent straight to your inbox every week – click here and sign up before Friday to make sure you don't miss the first edition. It's believed United would need to sell a number of players before making a formal offer for Baleba. Offloading Alejandro Garnacho, Antony and Jadon Sancho – for example – is reported to be enough for United to make a bid. United are keen to recruit a new No.6 ahead of the new Premier League season – and have made Baleba one of their main targets. Brighton have no desire to sell the 21-year-old midfielder, who is under contract at the Amex until 2028 with an option to extend by 12 months. The Cameroon international joined the Seagulls in 2023 from Lille and has made 77 appearances for the south coast club to date. There's set to be updates in the 'coming days' if United's interest in Baleba will develop or not. Baleba was named Brighton's Young Player of the Season last term after a number of impressive performances. He scored three Premier League goals in the 2024-25 campaign against Chelsea, Fulham and West Ham respectively. United supporters have been reacting to the news of the club's approach for Baleba on social media. More Trending 'If we get Baleba and [Senne] Lammens on top of [Matheus] Cunha, [Bryan] Mbeumo and Sesko, this will have been a serious, serious summer window,' @123cwahoo posted on Reddit. 'Easily the best window we've had post-Glazers,' @Immersivist added. 'And I mean a window where we're actually buying players with an idea of where they fit in.' 'My head tells me that this is going to be prohibitively expensive for us to do this summer, and we may just be doing the legwork right now to then come back next year for him,' @arnm7890 opined. 'I'd think the idea of getting Baleba is so we can use Bruno [Fernandes] alongside him,' @s_D088z said. 'And then we look like a very potent threat to anyone in terms of attacking football.' MORE: Mikel Arteta drops major hint over Max Dowman ahead of new Premier League season MORE: Chelsea striker joins Sunderland on season-long loan deal with special clause MORE: Arsenal and Man Utd told they should have 'taken a chance' on £46m Liverpool star
Scotsman
5 hours ago
- Scotsman
Hibs braced for hostile Belgrade 'Gravediggers' as David Gray explains Thibault Klidje situation
Place in Conference League playoff at stake Sign up to our Football newsletter Sign up Thank you for signing up! Did you know with a Digital Subscription to The Scotsman, you can get unlimited access to the website including our premium content, as well as benefiting from fewer ads, loyalty rewards and much more. Learn More Sorry, there seem to be some issues. Please try again later. Submitting... Rip away all the noise and nonsense, the sound and fury that make European competition so reliably fascinating for those with a dog in the fight, and there is still a game of football to be played. Hibs will need to remember that as they take to the field in front of 30,000 roaring Serbs at the Partizan Stadion on Thursday night. Against a team whose supporters revel in the nickname of 'The Gravediggers', David Gray's men must not allow themselves to be buried under the avalanche of animosity likely to come tumbling down from the stands here. They have to impose their own game upon a young Partizan side still developing as a European force. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad At stake is a place in the UEFA Conference League play-offs where qualification for the league phase will be up for grabs. Something Hibs thought was already in their possession not so long ago, only for Aberdeen to rip that prize from their grasp courtesy of an odds-defying Scottish Cup win over Celtic. Hibs expect a hostile reception from Partizan Belgrade fans on Thursday night. (Photo by) | Getty Images Partizan, knocked out of the Europa League on penalties by Larnaca but handsome Conference League conquerors of Ukrainian wanders Oleksandriya last time out, represent a formidable enough challenge. But not the most fearsome opposition ever laid before a Scottish club at this stage of qualification. 'Firstly, you expect it to be quite a hostile environment, one that the players maybe haven't experienced before,' said Hibs manager Gray, whose team took Midtjylland deep into extra time at Easter Road before suffering their own Europa League exit last week, the former club captain adding: 'Some of them might have, but going over there, it's a different environment, it's a bit hostile and from what I've seen, a very intense, aggressive nature. 'So discipline is going to be a big thing as well from our players in making sure we do things properly. It's another brilliant test against a top side and we know we need to be at our very best. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad 'It's no different from the Midtjylland test, which was a difficult one, but we need to take confidence from that. I say to the players all the time, you need to believe you can go over there and get a result, and if they were doubting or weren't fully believing before the first leg over in Denmark, they certainly were when they came home, which shows the level of performance and the level of quality we've got as well.' Partizan are aware of the threat posed by Hibs striker Kieron Bowie, whose double secured a 2-0 win over Dundee on Sunday. (Photo by Mark Scates / SNS Group) | SNS Group Hibs certainly boast top-line quality in their starting XI, with Partizan boss Srdjan Blagojevic singling out stand-in skipper Martin Boyle as the one to watch. Although, among the Belgrade media corps attending the MD-1 event at the Partizan Stadion yesterday, the name of Kieron Bowie was also given a frequent airing; it's impossible to sneak that sort of bruising talent under the radar against even the most lax opposition. And Partizan are no slouches. As for the options available to Gray as the game goes on, well, there is some strength in depth. Even if it will take a while for latest signing Grant Hanley to get up to speed. Record signing situation explained On that subject, might Hibs finally get a proper look at record signing Thibault Klidje? Having cost the Easter Road club over £1 million, there's a natural clamour to see what the Togolese international striker has to offer. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Gray is prone to caution on that subject, however, stressing: "Yeah, I understand that as soon as you see the price, people talk about getting him in the team. But the boys are obviously doing well, and I don't want to push him either. 'The expectation is one thing, but he needs to settle. He needs to get used to me and the way we're working and get used to the intensity, because it's a different way of playing. "I've noticed he's really settled around the group now, which is pleasing. Coming to a foreign country, the players have made him feel really welcome, which is great. He's getting used to my accent slightly, which is probably good for him as well, and he's got his own place now. "He's starting to settle a lot quicker, and I'm sure we'll see a lot of improvement from him pretty quickly. But I'm not putting too much pressure on him right now. We're just going to make sure that we keep progressing when we can.' Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Hibs fans have seen little of record summer signing Thibault Klidje thus far. (Photo by Ross Parker / SNS Group) | SNS Group Hibs really rattled Midtjylland in the opening exchanges of their first leg at the tidy-but-tame MCH Arena, attacking with intent and taking an early lead through Jamie McGrath's cheeky free-kick. But, of course, that desire to really test opponents, not the worst tactic if Hibs are to put the Gravediggers in a sombre mood from the off, only works if you've got the defensive strength to avoid conceding a crazy number of chances at the other end. "Yeah, I think we've demonstrated that a few times now,' said Gray. 'The defensive organisation needs to be there. That's the most important side to it. 'We'll always have players who can score goals. And defence is not always the back five or the back three. The defence starts right at the very front. 'I think we saw that against Dundee at the weekend. The front two, Martin Boyle and Kieron Bowie, really worked hard with Junior Hoilett in behind them. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad 'The effort that goes into that, the organisation behind the ball, it's something that we do work a lot on. It's a massive part of the game because tactically, the players are really switched on nowadays, at every level. "We need to be ready for that, even more so in Europe. It's a bit of an unknown because you don't watch these teams week in, week out. "But the hard work goes in from our point of view to make sure we educate the players to know exactly what the challenge is and then put a game plan in place that we feel gives us the best chance to win the game.
Belfast Telegraph
6 hours ago
- Belfast Telegraph
It's unfair to enforce seasonal change and play during summer when most of the Irish League is part-time: Chris Shields
Linfield warrior Chris Shields has argued it would be unfair and wrong to enforce summer football on part-time Irish League players. Speaking during Linfield's European odyssey in the summer of 2025, Shields has reiterated his caution about any change to the Premiership fixtures calendar.
