Danny Strachan has agreed to return to Peterhead following his release from Dundee.
The full-back is a free agent after his contract at Dens Park expired and Blue Toon boss Jim McInally was quick to offer the player, who was on loan at Balmoor last season, a one-year deal.
Strachan is set to follow Ryan Strachan and Ryan Dow in committing his future to the club.
McInally said: “It’s great Danny has agreed to sign.
“He can play left back or right-back and that versatility will be good for us.
“I think having mulled things over he has decided to come to a club where he really enjoyed his football.”
Good mix of youth and experience at Blue Toon
The Blue Toon boss is pleased by what has been a productive week for the club following the arrival of three new players, and is delighted with the blend of youth and experience being assembled at the club.
Strachan has been plagued by niggling Achilles injuries, but McInally is thrilled with how his new signing is progressing after undergoing surgery.
He said: “They are two really good signings (Strachan and Dow).
“Ryan Strachan has come back a better player than when he left and he is still only 31.
“We’ve had him signed for a while, but he has been recovering from his operation on both feet. He is three weeks into recovery and he is feeling a lot better.
“We don’t expect him to be out too long and we’re expecting him to be back at some point in August.
“He has had years of pain and is getting relief for the first time, so he’s quite pleased with how the recovery is going.
“Ryan has been an outstanding defender at Cove and for me that’s his best position.
“He could play the Simon Ferry role sitting in front of the back four if it came to it, but he’s matured into a really good defender.”
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Dow has also put pen to paper on a deal, returning to Balmoor on a two-year contract, and McInally is delighted to have the former Dundee United and Ross County attacker on board after fearing he had missed out.
He said: “I nearly lost Ryan to be honest. He could have signed two or three weeks ago, but I knew there were other clubs including Cove interested.
“Ryan is a front three player. He and Hamish Ritchie give us great options in terms of how they interchange. He’s an intelligent footballer with good pace.
“He’s 31 now and I think he has reached the stage where he wants to go part-time.”
Trialists will feature at Borough Briggs
The Blue Toon continue their preparations for the first game of the season – against Aberdeen in the Premier Sports Cup on July 10 – with two matches this weekend in Elgin City’s centenary tournament.
Peterhead face Inverurie Locos on Saturday (5pm) before facing either hosts Elgin or Highland League champions Fraserburgh on Sunday.
Davie Nicholls will take charge of the side in McInally’s absence, and the Peterhead boss will give his trialists another chance to stake their claim for a permanent deal.
He said: “We might have 18 bodies so we’ll do the best we can again. It’s not ideal the way it has worked out with us having a 5pm kick-off, so we’ll have to be careful.
“Davie Nicholls will have to make sure everyone is getting the same game time, but the only negative of the weekend is the possibility of playing late on Saturday and early on Sunday.
“We had some trialists on Wednesday in a bounce game and they will be involved this weekend and against Dundee next week, as I like to give them all a fair crack of the whip.”
