The Dark Blues have confirmed the unveiling of their latest signing will take place tomorrow and, while they are also being linked with Livingston’s Robert Snodgrass and former Kilmarnock midfielder Gary Holt as well as Soutar, Douglas may be the man.

The 36-year-old almost signed up this time last year, but problems with his severance package at Leicester saw boss Alex Rae move for Samson instead.

Last season saw the big keeper move to Millwall, Wycombe Wanderers and then Plymouth on loan and, but for red tape, he would have finished the campaign as an emergency loan signing for Dundee’s final league game.

Now, however, he could be rejoining the club he first put pen to paper for back in 1997, on a permanent basis.

In three years at Dens, he made 119 appearances and broke into the Scotland squad before moving on to Celtic for close on £1 million late in 2000.

At Parkhead, he won two league titles and was in goal for The Hoops when they lost to Porto in the 2003 UEFA Cup final.

Dundee United boss Craig Levein took him to Leicester in 2005, but, after the manager returned to Scotland, Douglas fell out of favour at the Walkers Stadium.

Other than to confirm a signing had been finalised, Dundee were refusing to confirm he was the man who would be unveiled tomorrow.

““All I can say is that we are bringing in a player with a good name, who I’m sure will impress fans and make an impact,” said chief executive Dave MacKinnon.

“We’ve also agreed everything with another player, but he still has a few things to tie up with the club he is leaving and I would think it will be towards the end of the week before he arrives.”

The manager has been out of the country for a few days.

And, although he is due back tomorrow, he will soon be looking out his passport again.

“We’ve fixed up a training camp abroad for the start of pre-season. Before we sign up for anything, Alex and I will head over in the next week or so to check the facilities are everything we need,” explained Dave.

It is still not certain, though, that his performances will earn him a long-term deal.

The manager has made signing strikers a priority, but is determined to keep his options open.

“I’ll be having a chat with Mark to get his thoughts and give him mine and we’ll take things from there, but there are a few things I’m looking at and it might take a bit of time to get things sorted.”

Likewise, while he would not rule out the possibility of a future move to make Celtic winger Jim O’Brien’s loan a permanent switch, it is not top of Craig’s list of to dos.

O’Brien did not feature as regularly as was expected when he arrived in January, but that in itself should not be taken as a sign his time at Tannadice was regarded as a disappointment.

“Jim’s a player I still like and you have to remember he is still young. He’s gone back to Celtic and, although nothing is imminent, he is not off the radar.”

This week could see Mark Kerr’s future sorted and an offer to tempt the midfielder to stay on is being put together.

There remains a strong chance, though, that Kerr will opt for a fresh challenge down south with one of several Championship clubs who have been tracking him.

“I’ll be speaking to the chairman and we’ll do something, but the bottom line is the budget is what it is and there is only so much we can offer,” added Craig.