van der Velden Leaves United

Dundee United today announced that Nick van der Velden had been released from his contract ahead of time. The attacker, who has only made three starts this year and was due to leave the Club in the summer but has been offered an opportunity abroad and asked Manager Ray McKinnon for his early release. With the emergence of Ali Coote and Scott Allardice in recent times and the return from injury of Scott Fraser due before the season’s end, this agreement is in the best interests of both parties. Manager Ray McKinnon said, “I had a gentlemen’s agreement with Nick from December that we would not stand in his way if something lucrative came up. He wasn’t likely to see much, if any, game time between now and the season’s end, and although I know he would have conducted himself in a professional manner, the focus of everyone here is to achieving our goal of promotion. “The emergence of Ali and Scott has been a real bonus and has allowed us to release Nick now. We also believe Scott Fraser will be back possibly before the end of the season and that will increase our midfield options and would have further reduced the likelihood of Nick 's involvement. He has been a tremendous professional and always gave 100% for the Club, and I wish him all the best for the future.” Nick van der Velden said, ”I want to thank the Chairman and Manager for allowing me to pursue this fantastic opportunity in the twilight of my career. Dundee United gave me the opportunity to play football in beautiful Scotland. The Dundee United fans have been fantastic with me, and both they and the club will remain forever in my heart. United is a great club that deserves to be in the top league, and I hope the guys can achieve their goal of promotion.”