Ross County have beaten off interest from “all over the world” to land Australia international Josh Nisbet on a three-year deal.
Midfielder Nisbet has been courted by Staggies boss Don Cowie throughout the summer, having left Central Coast Mariners.
The Dingwall outfit have now got a deal over the line, which brings their tally of summer arrivals to 10.
Nisbet, who has two Australia caps, last season won the A-League player of the year award, in a treble-winning campaign for the Mariners.
Cowie is thrilled to land the 25-year-old, and said: “Joshua is a really exciting addition to the group.
“He had an exceptional season last season, winning both team and individual accolades which has resulted in him breaking into the Australian national team.
“There has been a lot of interest in Joshua from all over the world, but we are absolutely delighted that he has chosen to join the Staggies for the next steps in his career.”
Staggies welcome trio back into squad
Ross County will have Akil Wright, Scott Allardice and Michee Efete back in their squad for Saturday’s game against Rangers at Hampden Park.
The trio were not among the Staggies’ squad for last Saturday’s Premier Sports Cup trip to Spartans, in which County suffered a shock 1-0 defeat.
Defender Wright was rested following a busy schedule since his summer move from Stockport County.
Midfielder Allardice also sat the tie out having recently returned from a long-term knee injury, while full back Efete was sidelined due to a family matter.
Allardice and Efete both played an hour of County’s 3-2 defeat to Brora Rangers in the North of Scotland Cup in midweek.
Cowie says both players, along with Wright, are back in contention this weekend.
He said: “Akil came in right in the middle of pre-season, and played pretty much every game. He was showing little signs of fatigue, so the judgment call was to not involve him.
“Scott did really well against Dundee United, but he has had his injury history. With the artificial pitch, we didn’t feel it was suitable for him.
“Michee was due to be heavily involved in the game, but unfortunately he had to deal with a family matter on Friday evening. That’s why he wasn’t involved.
“All three of them come back into contention for this week.”
Staggies aiming to rise to Hampden challenge
County make the trip to Hampden Park this weekend – where Rangers are temporarily playing due to ongoing works at Ibrox.
It will be the first time the Staggies have faced Philippe Clement’s side since their historic first victory over the Gers in April.
Cowie wants his side to grasp the rare opportunity to play at the national stadium in a domestic league fixture.
He added: “There’s one glaring factor in it, in that the majority of our squad have probably not played at Hampden Park before.
“There’s going to be that freshness and excitement, maybe, at playing at the national stadium.
“When you set that to one side, it is still Rangers with a massive support behind them – one that we’re well used to.
“Every team we play against, we understand the challenge of playing them.
“We look into that, we plan for how we will cope with them. Then it is about us believing in ourselves and going out to execute that plan, trying to hurt the opposition.”
“They are maybe going through a bit of a transition squad-wise, a bit of change, but there is still real quality within that squad that we need to be ready for.”
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