Former £3m Wolves & Leeds United ace signs deal with Scottish Premiership club after time as a free agent

Former Wolverhampton Wanderers defender Barry Douglas has signed for St. Johnstone, marking his return to Scottish football after 11 years away from his country of birth.

Previously, he had been at Lech Poznan in the Ekstraklasa, playing for both their senior and B teams. He left the club upon the expiration of his contract in the summer, allowing him to sign for St. Johnstone on a free transfer.

As things stand, St. Johnstone are ninth in the Scottish Premiership table, following their impressive 3-0 victory over Ross County at the weekend. While it has been a slow start to the season for the Saints, they will be hoping that their win on Saturday - coupled with the arrival of Douglas - can be the shot in the arm that their campaign needs. They will play Dundee next weekend, in a game where Douglas could make his debut.

What did Barry Douglas say upon his arrival at St. Johnstone?

Speaking in an interview featured on St. Johnstone’s official club website, Douglas said: “It is an exciting time. I am looking forward to the opportunity to come in and try to help the guys develop. There is a project here. It is a bit of a transition period with the new manager coming in.

“I had a look and it is quite a young squad, so I can definitely bring my quality and experience to help everyone develop both on and off the park. The hunger is still there, the drive is still there and that is why I am so excited to be here playing my football.

“It was a good and convincing win. There is definitely a lot of quality in the squad and I think when we start to work with the new manager and his philosophy, the only way is up really. We should have momentum now. The squad will have a lot of belief and positivity.”

Barry Douglas’ time with Wolves

During his time at Wolves, Douglas made 39 league appearances, scoring five goals along the way. He joined the club in 2017, leaving the following year after he was snapped up by Leeds United for an undisclosed fee, reported to be in the region of £3 million at the time.

He enjoyed a positive spell during his brief stint at the Molineux Stadium - the highlight of his tenure in the Midlands came when he scored a brilliant free kick against Leeds in a 4-1 victory.

Outside of this, Douglas has played for clubs such as Queen’s Park, Dundee United and Lech Poznan. A former Scotland international, he won his first and only cap for the Tartan Army in 2018 in a 1-0 win against Hungary, where he came off the bench to replace Liverpool’s Andy Robertson.

Perhaps the crowning moment of his career came when he won the Championship title with Leeds under the stewardship of Marcelo Bielsa. However, he also won two Ekstraklasa titles during his time with Lech Poznan - can he make another addition to his trophy cabinet at McDiarmid Park?