Craig Wighton makes move to East End Park

Dunfermline boss Stevie Crawford has revealed his long-term admiration for striker Craig Wighton, who has signed a pre-contract with the Pars.

The former Dundee frontman will move to East End Park from Tynecastle when his Hearts contract ends in the summer.

Wighton, whose new deal will run to the summer of 2023, first caught the eye of Crawford when still a raw teenager at Dens Park and now the pair will work together at Dunfermline.

Crawford said: “We are delighted that we have Craig. He is 23, he will be 24 in the summer, and he has put pen to paper on a pre-contract with us.

“He is a player who I have admired since he broke into a Dundee team as a 16-year-old.

“He has a wealth of experience in terms of Championship, Premiership, Championship, Premiership, but he has also gone out on loan and had spells at Brechin.

“He had a spell at Raith Rovers on loan and even last year after he had suffered an injury with Hearts he went out on loan to get football at Arbroath.”

Crawford added: “He has an appetite for the game, he wants to play football.

“Again, it shows that we are trying to get the right kind of player that is hungry, at a good age with a lot of his years ahead of him.

“He is a different type

from what we have got. I do see him as a striker. I see traits in him that he is more of a striker albeit he can play in wider positions because that is the type of boy he is.

“There is flexibility to his game. He is also a player who has goals in him.

“If you look at his career as a whole, his stats are maybe not what you would want them to be, but he has had to battle through injuries going to clubs that have changed manager and he very much sees Dunfermline as a club that is going in the right direction where he can start enjoying his football.

“The big thing for him is that I see him as a striker.”

Meanwhile, Dunfermline also signed Lithuanian international Vytas Gaspuitis on a deal until the summer of 2023.

There is still some paperwork to be completed and the six-foot-five central defender has now started a period of self-isolation under the Covid-19 protocols.

Gaspuitus has joined from Panevezys in his homeland and embarked on an epic 21-hour trip to get to Scotland, travelling via France then England.

The Pars thanked former player Andrius Skerla, who had a significant role in linking up player and club.

Crawford said: “We were scouring and leaving no stone uncovered.

“Vytas was brought to our attention by an agent but Andrius Skerla has played a big part in this when we started doing our homework.

“You cannot go out physically and watch a player just now.

“Vytas has broken into the Lithuanian international team recently, he is 26 and he can play left centre-back, right centre-back and as third centre-back if you are playing three.

“He is at a good age for a centre-half to come to a club that gives him an opportunity to play in the UK.

“Once he got speaking to the chairman and myself he has been happy to commit himself for twoand-a-half years.”

Pars-bound Craig Wighton.