Marc McNulty jumped at the chance to return to Tannadice after being earmarked as the centre-forward to replace Lawrence Shankland.

Dundee United had McNulty lined up to come in if Shankland moved on and they have completed a season-long loan deal from Reading after selling his former team-mate to Belgian side Beerschot this week.

The pair played up front together under Micky Mellon last season with McNulty often being pushed out wide.

And he was delighted to hear that new head coach Tam Courts had a central role in mind for him.

"I'm buzzing to be back," the former Hibernian striker told DUTV. "I really enjoyed my time here last season, I said it was a great club that was going places.

"Obviously, there's been a change of management but that never affected my decision in wanting to come back and, luckily, it's not affected the club wanting me to return.

"Any player always wants to be wanted and for me when the manager wants you as a number nine and to score goals that's a key factor.

"You want to play in your best position and that's something that excites me."

The 28-year-old scored five goals in 30 matches last season and Courts believes he will quickly contribute.

Courts, whose team face Ayr in the Premier Sports Cups second round on Saturday, said: "We're delighted to bring a striker of Marc's quality back to the club, as he's a proven goalscorer in the league and now approaching his prime.

"When you look closely, he was involved in a lot of our best attacking play last year so, that gives me a lot of optimism for the impact he can have once we get him up to speed."

United hope to get international clearance in time for McNulty to feature at Somerset Park.

Louis Appere is pushing for a comeback but Florent Hoti is out with a heel knock along with long-term absentees Mark Connolly and Declan Glass (both knee).