Ross County yesterday reached agreement to release Ian McShane, with two Championship clubs now vying for the midfielder’s signature.
After two years in Dingwall, the former Queen of the South playmaker was told at the end of last season he was free to find another club.
With another year to run on his Staggies’ deal, McShane rejoined the Premiership club for pre-season training and this month travelled with the squad for a five-day training exercise at La Manga, Spain.
County have now reached settlement with the 24-year-old, who had rejoined previous manager Jim McIntyre from the Dumfries club in May 2015 for an undisclosed cash fee.
In those two seasons, McShane managed 27 starts and 10 substitute appearances, scoring three times.
It is understood two potential promotion challengers from the Championship are vying for his signature.
McIntyre said: “We’ve reached an agreement and Ian McShane will leave the club.
“It’s a step forward in re-shaping the squad. Ian wasn’t going to be getting game time here and we needed to trim the squad.
“We’ve added Jamie Lindsay to midfield, on loan from Celtic, and we’ll take in another midfielder and winger. After that, the squad will be complete but we still have one or two players to move on.”
There is relief in County ranks at the return of forward Craig Curran to full training after taking another serious head knock in the pre-season match with Elgin City on July 1.
Curran, who spent 18 months struggling the symptoms of concussion before being declared fully fit again late last season, appears to have suffered no lasting harm.
McIntyre will approach the players’ re-introduction to first-team action with caution but stressed: “Craig is back in full training and doing great. His head knock has settled down nicely.
“Like any head knock you might have a recurrence. You’ve got to be cautious because of Craig’s history but it was in a different part of the head from last time and he’s raring to go.
“His symptoms have been totally different, too. He has some game time to catch up on, a bit like our new signing Thomas Mikkelsen, but Craig’s a very fit boy.”