Yan Dhanda joins Dundee after ‘seven calls a day’ from Simon Murray to sell move

Yan Dhanda revealed his former Ross County team-mate Simon Murray persuaded him to join Dundee on a season-long loan from Hearts.

The 26-year-old playmaker has been allowed to move to Dens Park after struggling to establish himself at Tynecastle since joining the Jambos from County on a three-year contract last summer.

Dhanda and Dundee skipper Murray enjoyed a fruitful season together in Dingwall in 2023-24 and their ongoing friendship was key to the former Swansea player becoming Steven Pressley’s latest summer recruit.

“I had a lot of conversations with Simon, and he told me a lot of good things about the club,” Dhanda told the Dundee website after his loan was announced on Friday evening.

“When I heard so many good things and what the manager is trying to do, I was desperate to come here and to start playing.

“Simon was onto me quite a lot, saying ‘people at Dundee really like you’, and I was just wanting to play football and get consistent game time.

“Simon spoke highly of the place and the manager phoned me and told me where I fit into his plans and the systems he is going to play. The chat went really well, and from there it all happened quite quickly.

“Simon has been phoning me at least seven times a day and has been on my case for quite a while. Especially in the last couple of days, he’s been phoning me a lot, making sure I come here.

“At Ross County, me and Simon had a really good relationship on the pitch and I assisted him quite a few times. He was someone that was great to play with, he’s one of my favourite players that I’ve played with.

“But we are also really good friends off the pitch and when he wanted to get me here, I trusted him because he spoke so highly of the place.”

Dhanda will not be available for Saturday’s trip to Rangers as he is serving the final game of a suspension carried over from last season while manager Pressley will make a late call on whether or not to include talisman Murray, who has been recovering from a knee injury sustained in the Premier Sports Cup last month.