Norwich City winger Simon Power joined Ross County at their Dutch training base yesterday after signing for the Staggies on a season-long loan deal.
Power is highly regarded by the English Premier League outfit, and impressed for Republic of Ireland’s under-21s during this summer’s Toulon tournament where he is believed to have caught the eye of the likes of Borussia Dortmund and Lyon.
Having opted to make the temporary move to the Dingwall side, Power could make his first Staggies outing in tonight’s pre-season friendly against Groningen in Assen.
Power will be in familiar surroundings in Holland, with the 21-year-old spending the latter six months of last season with Dutch second-tier side Dordrecht.
Staggies co-manager Stuart Kettlewell has high hopes for the Staggies’ latest arrival, who becomes County’s fifth addition of the summer.
Kettlewell said: “In terms of his attributes, he has blistering pace. That’s his big asset.
“He will be the quickest player setting foot on most pitches. He had a reasonable six-month spell out in Holland which is obviously a big step for a young player.
“He also signed a longer-term deal at Norwich back in January which showed what they think about him.
“He also had a fantastic tournament at the Toulon tournament with the Republic of Ireland under 21s and his performances meant he had some of the biggest clubs in Europe chasing him over the summer.
“We’re delighted to get him in at Ross County and believe he will be an exciting prospect for us and one who gives us a different option.”
County will make the trip to Assen for tonight’s fixture with Groningen, before returning to their training base in Doorwerth for Sunday’s game against French second-tier outfit Valenciennes.
Kettlewell is hoping for a stern test for his squad against a Groningen side who finished eighth in the Eredivisie last season.
He added: “We know they are going to be a strong side. We played Utrecht last year and they were good opposition. We understand their way of thinking, their way of playing football is possession based.
“Our organisation and team shape will have to be very good throughout the game.
“We also play Valenciennes which was attractive in the sense we are playing another team from a different country.
“It’s important for us to have these two tough games – that’s what we felt set us in good stead last year.
“You can go and get your strikers’ confidence up by scoring five, six or seven goals.
“But I would always argue the fact that in order for us to be prepared to play in the Premiership, we need to play against as good an opposition as we can find.
“I think we have certainly found that with the two games we have.”