Caley Thistle head coach Billy Dodds hopes to clinch a deal to bring former striker George Oakley back to the Championship club.
The 26-year-old Englishman is closing in on a return to the north of Scotland and played the first half of Saturday’s 1-0 pre-season win at Brora Rangers.
The forward left Inverness for Hamilton Accies in 2019 after which he has played for Kilmarnock, Bulgarian First Division club Pirin Blagoevgrad and most recently National League side Woking.
Now a free agent, Oakley is understood to be keen on a switch back to the Caledonian Stadium and Dodds is hopeful the move could happen.
He said: “I like big George. He’s a lovely guy and a few of the boys have played with him.
“Ross Hughes, our head of performance, worked with him at Killie. George has become available, so I’m really happy with him.
“He’s only trained with us for a couple of days and the 45 minutes on Saturday will help him.
“George did well here before. I did say we needed a big target man. It doesn’t work for you in every game, but he would give us an option. He would do well for us if we bring in him. It would just be a case of getting him fit.
“He loves it here and the fans liked him, so hopefully we can get a deal done soon. We will keep in communication. We like him and he knows the club. He’s the type of player we’re looking for.
“I like the right types of players in the dressing room and he’s certainly that. But I also like right types on the pitch as well and that includes a target man such as George.”
Defender also on Caley Jags’ radar
Caley Thistle are also running the rule over ex-West Brom defender Zak Delaney, 20, who was on loan at Bath City in National League South last term.
He impressed as a trialist in the 10-o rout over Clach last Wednesday and looked the part when handed another game at Brora.
Doran deadly to see off hosts Brora
And Dodds, whose side face St Johnstone in a closed-door game on Tuesday, was delighted to see wide midfielder Aaron Doran hit the only goal of a tight affair at Brora on Saturday.
His second half winner stemmed from a fabulous pass from Austin Samuels in a match where ICT goalkeeper Mark Ridgers saved a late Jordan Macrae spot-kick.
Doran, who signed a one-year deal this summer in his testimonial year, can still offer quality when it matters if he just believes in his ability, according to the boss.
Dodds said: “Austin done brilliant for the goal. When the ball came out from a (Brora) corner, I didn’t know if he would have seen Aaron.
“But he took the touch and delivered the pass. I need Aaron to believe more, to have more of an end product and he knows that. It was assured and it was a great finish.
“Sometimes, as you get older, you maybe lose that wee bit of belief. Aaron still has the pace. He makes great runs and he’s a clever player.
“If he believes, he will score half a dozen goals for us this season. He will create chances as well. He’s an important player for us.”
And in summary of a hard work-out against Craig Campbell’s team, Dodds added: “Brora provided a really good test for us on Saturday. We’re creating chances, but we also have things to work on.”
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