St. Johnstone is set to sign Trinidad and Tobago left-back Andre Raymond, following a recommendation from Craig Levein regarding Dan Phillips. The defender’s contract is expected to be finalized before the Saints begin their season at Brechin.
Raymond will become the seventh signing of the summer.
When asked whether Phillips had recommended the new full-back, Levein said: “Absolutely.
“One day, I just asked him: ‘Is there anybody in the national team who would be good for us?’
“Dan mentioned a couple, with Andre being the standout. I believe this conversation took place in January.”
“I went away and did a lot of research. It’s taken a while to get to this stage, but I really like him.
“He’s dynamic, strong, and quick.
“He’s been playing in the Portuguese lower leagues, but with Trinidad and Tobago, he’s faced players from Canada and America worth tens of millions of pounds.
“He coped well with those players, which is a good indication he can help us.
“I’m hopeful that by this time next week he’ll be able to play in the cup at Brechin.”
New captain
Kyle Cameron also had to be listed as a trialist following the completion of his season-long loan deal from Notts County. He was given the captain’s armband, and Levein admitted that the 27-year-old is a contender for the role on a permanent basis.
“It’s a possibility,” he said. “I just thought it would give him a nice lift in his first game for us. We’re going to need leaders. Captaincy is something I can sort in the next two or three weeks.”
The most important thing is that Cameron turns out to be a good Premiership defender. On that front, the Arbroath game was an encouraging start.
“I’ve been looking for a left-sided centre-back,” said Levein.
“We have to look near and far to try and find players who are affordable. Kyle will be a good addition. I knew he’d played for the Scotland under-age teams and for Newcastle.
Sometimes careers can veer off in a different direction. But he’s still a good age, he’s got good pace, he’s a big lad, and he’s decent on the ball.”
“I felt that last year we were a bit vulnerable at set-pieces. Jack Sanders is well over six feet tall, so I’m hoping we’re going to improve in that regard. I want us to be hard to defend against when we have attacking set-pieces and hard to score past at the other end.”
Regarding Essel’s imminent signing, Levein said: “Everything will be fine, but we just had to put him on as a trialist today. There’s a process, but the important stuff is sorted.”
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