Ashcroft opts to remain at Dens

Boost for McPake’s men as defender pens new contract until summer 2023

CONTRACT BOOST: Lee Ashcroft has agreed a new deal to keep him at Dens Park until the summer of 2023. Picture by David Young.

Lee Ashcroft has signed a new contract with Dundee. Ashcroft, 28, has penned a deal that will see him remain at Dens Park until the summer of 2023.

The towering centre-half joined the Dark Blues from Dunfermline in the summer of 2020 and has gone on to make 51 appearances for the club.

As well as cutting a stoic

presence at the back, Ashcroft has scored nine goals.

One of those strikes came in the promotion play-off final second leg win over Kilmarnock last May which saw Dundee earn their return to the Premiership.

Ashcroft, who came through the ranks at Killie, has been a regular for the Dee in the topflight this term, playing 19 times and rippling the net against Motherwell and Celtic.

However, he has been absent

since suffering a hamstring injury against Steelmen in November.

The damage required surgery at the start of December, with a 12-week recovery timeframe subsequently laid out.

Dundee are actively seeking to strengthen their defensive options, with former Dundee United and Dunfermline defender Paul Watson on trial.

The Dens Park outfit and Celtic meanwhile remain locked in talks over the future

of striker Leigh Griffiths. The 31-year-old’s second spell at the club looked set to end in disappointing fashion with the striker struggling for form and fitness.

However, chances are he will remain a Dundee player for the rest of the season.

A return of two goals and little impact had prompted the Dark Blues to consider ending his temporary stay by sending him back to Parkhead.