Dundee Football Club are delighted to announce the signing of midfielder Yan Dhanda on a season-long loan from Heart of Midlothian, subject to SFA approval.
Dhanda was much sought after, but has chosen to join The Dee for the 25/26 season and will again link up with former teammate Simon Murray.
The 26-year-old joined Hearts last summer on a three-year deal after leaving Ross County.
Dhanda started at the youth academy at West Bromwich Albion before moving to the academy at Liverpool. In 2018, he moved to Swansea City and scored on his debut with his first touch in a 2-1 win against Sheffield United.
After 63 appearances and 5 goals for the Swans, Dhanda made the move to Scotland in 2022, signing for Ross County. During his two seasons with the Staggies, he made a name for himself in Scottish football with his impressive creative play. In Dingwall, he played 79 times, scored 12 goals and had 18 assists. Last season, he played 33 times for Hearts in all competitions, scoring twice.
After signing for The Dee, Dhanda said, “It’s very good to be here at the club. I had a lot of conversations with Simon (Murray), and he told me a lot of good things about the club, and when I heard so many good things and what the manager is trying to do, I was desperate to come here and to start playing.
“Simon was onto me quite a lot, saying people at Dundee really like you, and I was just wanting to play football and get consistent game time. Simon spoke highly of the place, and the manager phoned me and told me where I fit into his plans and the systems he is going to play. The chat went really well, and from there it all happened quite quickly.
“Simon has been phoning me at least seven times a day and has been on my case for quite a while. Especially in the last couple of days, he’s been phoning me a lot, making sure I come here. At Ross County, me and Simon had a really good relationship on the pitch, and I assisted him quite a few times. He was someone that was great to play with, and he’s one of my favourite players that I’ve played with. But we are also really good friends off the pitch, and when he wanted to get me here, I trusted him because he spoke so highly of the place.”
Dhanda is currently serving a two-match suspension, meaning he will be unable to feature in Saturday’s match against Rangers, but will be available for our next league match against Kilmarnock.
Yan will wear the number 21 jersey for Dundee.
Welcome to the Dee Yan!
