Dundee United: Iurie Iovu and Zac Sapsford sign for Premiership club

Dundee United have signed Moldova centre-half Iurie Iovu from Istra 1961 and Australian forward Zac Sapsford from Western Sydney Wanderers.Sapsford has signed a three-year contract, while fellow 22-year-old Iovu has been given a two-year deal with United holding a 12-month additional option.Iovu, who has four caps, began his career with Cagliari and Venezia in Italy before moving to Croatia’s top flight and ending the season on loan to Deportivo Alaves’s B team in Spain’s fourth tier.United manager Jim Goodwin told his club website: “Iurie is a player we identified as one of our first targets for the summer window thanks to his dominant displays across three different European countries.”He is a committed and fearless defender with an infectious level of controlled aggression when carrying out his duties and boasts the ideal set of physical attributes to thrive in the Scottish Premiership.”At just 22, Iurie also has the potential to develop into a fantastic asset for the club further down the line. In the short-term, however, we have unwavering confidence in his ability to strengthen our backline across the next few seasons.”The news of Sapsford’s arrival came a day after last season’s top scorer, Sam Dalby, signed for Bolton Wanderers having a rejected the chance to stay permanently with United after last season’s loan spell from Wrexham.Sapsford himself previously played in England with Chester and netted 11 goals in 43 appearances for Wanderers.”The addition of Zac represents a terrific piece of business for the club – to have a player of his calibre secured so early in the window is incredibly satisfying,” Goodwin said.”He’s a dynamic forward with a killer instinct in the final third off both feet, or with his head, and also has the awareness to intelligently bring his team-mates into play.”Goodwin believes Sapsford is a player “that will get our supporters out of their seats and we can rely on in big moments given his mentality and track record in those situations”.