Dundee United’s immediate return to the Scottish Premiership is going far better than their fans probably expected.
They are fourth in the table with 20 points from 13 games and have only lost three times as the team head into a busy December schedule.
And a massive influence in their good run of form has been striker Sam Dalby who joined at the end of the summer transfer window on loan from Wrexham.
The 24-year-old has turned into a crucial player for Jim Goodwin’s men having scored five goals in his last six Premiership encounters.
He scored against Rangers on Saturday to secure a deserved point at Ibrox and Goodwin quite rightly is a massive fan of the Dundee United target man.
So much so, the United boss would love Dalby to extend his stay at Tannadice beyond this season. Negotiations on that front haven’t commenced but Goodwin is keen to get the ball rolling.
However, Dalby’s form could see bigger clubs fishing for the striker in the transfer market and Goodwin understands this too.
Goodwin wants Dundee United’s Sam Dalby to stay
On Dalby, Goodwin has said: “Five goals in six games, it’s a great return. I’ve got great faith in Sam, he’s done everything that I expected from him and he’s loving his time here.
“He’s a player that we really, really like and he’s one that obviously we would love to enter into negotiations with about extending his future here.
“The only concern with Sam is that as much as we’re admiring the work he’s doing, I’m pretty sure there will be lots of other people, who might have deeper pockets than us, taking notice as well because number nines like that are hard to find these days.
Who else is set to leave Dundee United in 2025?
Of course, Dalby is one. But Goodwin and the club might need to start thinking about the futures of a number of players at United. Currently, a whopping 11 stars will see their contracts or loans expire in May.
Dalby, Jack Walton, Emmanuel Adegboyega and Luca Stephenson are the loanees, while experienced players such as Ross Docherty, Declan Gallagher and Louis Moult are also in the mix.
David Babunski, Kevin Holt, Glenn Middleton, Jack Newman and Kai Fotheringham complete the list of expiring contracts at United this season – it’s now a case of deciding who stays and who can go.