Jim Goodwin has brought Allan Campbell to Dundee United – claiming he’s good enough to play for any team in Scotland.
United have agreed a short-term contract for the Scotland international after he secured a release from Luton Town, following his loan at Charlton Athletic being axed. But Goodwin would love to make it a more permanent move for the 26-year-old.
“Allan is happy with the short-term deal,” he said. “If we knew where we were going to be and what the budgets look like for next season, I’d have put a longer contract in front of the boy. But that’s not a conversation Allan or his representatives wanted to have. It’s all about getting him back playing – because he is more than good enough to play for any team in Scotland.
“I hope he comes up here and helps us achieve what we set out to – and that he enjoys it so much he wants to extend his time here.”
Goodwin said United fought off interest from several Scottish Premiership rivals to land Campbell. He also thanked chairman Mark Ogren for releasing the funds to make it happen. It sees Goodwin add to his earlier signings of Lewis Fiorini and Ruari Paton.
Goodwin said: “At the beginning of the week, I was happy with the business we’d done, receiving good backing from the chairman and the the board to bring in Fiorini and Paton. Allan’s availability came out of the blue. There was interest from several clubs in Scotland because we are all aware of what he did at
Motherwell, earning the right to go down and play with Luton.
“It was a no-brainer as far as I was concerned and we agreed, as a club, if there was the opportunity to bring in a player of that quality we had to do it.
“Some other good clubs were mentioned, but we sold it to him in terms of the facilities we have, the ambition of the club and the opportunity to play regular games.”
Goodwin has severely beefed up his midfield options and that is likely to free up midfielder Richard Odada for a possible loan spell, with Ross Docherty and Craig Sibbald close to returning after recent injuries.
The Kenyan international is highly rated at Tannadice but is playing catch-up in terms of match fitness.
The United boss said: “We have one or two members of the squad frustrated by the lack of game time and Richard is one of those. So we’ll see what transpires.
“The Scottish Championship window stays open for a while longer. There’s interest from there and abroad in Richard, in particular.”