Kilmarnock keen to push through Oakley deal

KILMARNOCK hope to tie up a deal for George Oakley in time for the former Hamilton striker to feature against Livingston tomorrow.

The 25-year-old former Inverness striker, inset, left Accies for Pirin Blagoevgrad in the Bulgarian second tier last summer but is available on a free transfer.

Manager Alex Dyer said: “He has trained with us a couple of days, trained well, and we are looking for him to hopefully do a little deal with us.

“I want him to stay to the end of the season and he wants to stay as well, as far as I know, we have had a conversation.

“We needed another [striker] and if I can get another one again I will do. But it’s difficult at this time, as everyone knows, because you can’t see anyone and everyone wants you to take someone out of their academy who is not tried and tested. But we are still looking.

“But if no one else comes in between now and the end of the window I will have to make do with what I’ve got, and it’s good enough.”

Despite having money available for a new addition, Killie are not in a position to tie up a number of players who are out of contract beyond the summer.

The club is looking into borrowing money from the Scottish Government’s Covid recovery fund for sport. “Between now and the summer, or the cut-off point of the league, we may speak to some and see what we can do,” Dyer said. “But everyone has to be patient.

“It is a risk because other clubs could come in and say ‘we want A, B, C of your squad’ and we know that. When that does happen we will decide to act then.

“But we don’t know where we are going to be. I always said at the start of this season the most important thing is to stay in this league because of the pandemic and last season finished the way it finished. That hasn’t changed, and once we are safe we can look forward.”