Evening Telegraph (First Edition)
McPake and Strachan are big pull as Charlie hopes deal can be done
FORMER Liverpool and Scotland star Charlie Adam has lifted the lid on his transfer talks with Dundee.
The 34-year-old – a free agent after leaving English Championship side Reading at the end of last season – is in negotiations with his boyhood club.
He says Dark Blues boss James McPake and technical director Gordon Strachan are a major factor in his desire to play for his heroes in Scotland’s second tier in 2020/21.
Earlier this week McPake said Dee – hit hard financially because of the coronavirus shutdown – would have to get “creative” if they are to seal a deal to bring the 26-times capped international midfielder to Dens Park.
Adam told the BBC: “We’ve been speaking for about a week now and I met James and John Nelms (managing director) the other day and had good discussions with them.
“The financial position of the club can’t be stretched and I obviously know there’s a wage budget so we’re trying to be creative.
“It’s my boyhood club, it’s where I’d like to play. I’d like to learn from a new manager and Gordon’s there as well – that’s enticing me.
“It’s going to take time. It’s still there, we’re talking and we’ll see how it goes.”
Asked if an agreement was likely, he added: “Yeah I do, I believe so.
“There’s an opportunity to go to a club and help the young players there too, guys like Fin Robertson and Josh Mulligan.
“I could go in and pass on my experience as a senior player and help them with their game.
“That’s another part of it. I want to go somewhere I can help the team and help the dressing-room.
“The coaching side is big for me as well and I want to learn.
“We’re talking regularly and we’ll see how it goes.
“It would be great for me personally, and it’d be good for the club and the supporters if we can get a lift.
“They’d just started to get on a good run last season when Covid hit. It’s a tough league to get out of but hopefully we can mount a challenge when the season starts.”
Adam – who has also starred for Rangers, Blackpool and Stoke – praised McPake for approaching him about the opportunity to join Dundee.
He added: “James McPake is someone who had the bottle to call me up and say, ‘Are you interested?’ He wasn’t thinking, ‘We can’t afford this guy’.
“He called me up and said, ‘I want to talk to you,’ so I drove up and spoke to them.
“I appreciated that Dundee made the call. It’s a club I’d love to do well at.”