Wednesday, July 09, 2008

McDonald Leaves For Burnley


Burnley have signed midfielder Kevin McDonald on a three-year deal after agreeing a fee with Dundee. Burnley boss Owen Coyle had two previous bids for the 19-year-old rejected but finally succeeded with an offer that could rise to £500,000. The Scotland Under-21 international scored 11 goals in the Scottish First Division last season and had a year of his Dens Park contract to run. "It's always important for a club like us to generate revenue but in terms of the playing side it's a big loss," Dundee manager Alex Rae told BBC Sport. "Last year he was the driving force for us and I think he's a fantastic talent who can go the whole way."
West Brom, Plymouth and Crystal Palace have all been credited with an interest in the powerful teenager. He will be missed but at least he did not go to the old firm, and the club got money as well.

Defender Paul Dixon has signed for city rivals Dundee Und. The 21-year-old was out of contract at Dundee and the neighbouring clubs agreed a compensation fee last week. Norwich had an offer for Dixon rejected last summer and Kilmarnock had been interested in signing the Scotland U21 international.

Former Gretna captain Chris Innes is on the verge of joining Dundee, while goalkeeper Robert Douglas may be returning to Dens Park. Douglas is under contract at Leicester until 31 July but will begin pre-season training with his former club. Central defender Innes, 31, who had a spell with Dundee United, was laid off when Gretna went into administration. A late hitch prevented Innes from signing on Tuesday and Dundee must now wait to see if they get their man. Douglas, 36, spent three years with Dundee before moving on to Celtic for £1.5m in October 2000. He has not featured for Leicester since February 2006 and was limited to a handful of loan appearances at Millwall and Wycombe Wanderers last season.