| The 19-year-old impressed during a trial at Dens just before Christmas and has been watched by the Dark Blues several times since. What he and his scouts have seen in that time has persuaded boss Jim Duffy to offer Ferguson a three-year deal that will take effect from July.
“He did well when he was up here and has been good when we’ve had him watched. He is a player who definitely has a chance of making it at this level,” said Jim.
“He will be 20 by the time he starts here and, like a few who are already at the club, I would like to think he will be within touching distance of the first team by the start of the new season.”
While, on the surface, adding a striker to the squad may not appear a major priority now, Jim pointed out that by the summer things could have changed.
“We’re well off for options up front, but if you look at the squad, Fabian Caballero, Glenn Larsen and Alex Cerdeira are all out of contract in the summer and John Sutton is here on a season’s loan,” he explained.
“We might try to do something with some of them, but nothing is settled, and it’s important that, when we look towards next season and beyond, we have options.”
Meanwhile, after several days of working indoors, the first-team squad were back on grass as they rounded off their week’s work this morning. “Conditions are still not perfect, but I got the groundsman to clear snow from our training pitch because I wanted the players outside again,” said Jim.
Lee Wilkie was able to do some work after recovering from the ankle knock he picked up at Hibs, but Tom McManus was still struggling with a similar problem. He, though, is expected to be fit for Wednesday’s trip to Celtic Park.
“Having him miss a whole week’s training isn’t ideal, but his general fitness is good and I think he will be back at work with the rest of the squad come Monday,” Jim added. |
