Nadir Ciftci has revealed he wanted to seal a return to Dundee United this summer.

Ciftci, 31, remains a cult hero among the Tannadice faithful following a dazzling two years with the Tangerines, notching 33 goals 82 appearances.

He has been persistently linked with a return to the Terrors since his departure for Celtic in 2015 — playing for TEN clubs including St Johnstone, in the meantime — and Ciftci claimed that contact was made with the club on two occasions.

And, in a wide-ranging interview with The Dode Fox Podcast, he confirmed that he was keen to lead their Championship charge this term.

However, United went in a different direction — snapping up the impressive Louis Moult to lead the line — and Ciftci has since joined İskenderunspor in the Turkish second tier.

“This season, when I saw Dundee United go down, I had even more a feeling of me wanting to come back and help the club, especially in a bad situation like that,” said Ciftci.

“Because the club helped me when I was in a bad situation.

“I tried to come back (in the past) but they never wanted me, inside the club, so it never happened. Twice, there has been contact and I could have come back but it didn’t happen; not because of me.”

Ciftci added: “I will never forget Dundee United — the manager (Jackie McNamara), the fans — because, especially that first season, it got me into a situation where I was reborn as a footballer. It gave me happiness and the confidence to get my smile back.”

Scottish Cup highs and lows

Ciftci’s first campaign at United culminated in him being named in the PFA Scotland team of the year, having helped the Terrors reach the Scottish Cup final and secure a fourth-place finish in the Premiership.

Indeed, his semi-final strike against Rangers at Ibrox — with the front-man celebrating before the ball even struck an empty net — is assured a place in United folklore.

He continued: “I’ve seen the pictures and videos, of course, but it wasn’t a situation where I wanted to make them (Rangers) feel bad and say, “look, 3-1 and I am celebrating before I score!” It just happened naturally.

“When I saw it back, it was a little laugh. It was good.

“As soon as the 3-1 happened, we knew we had a very big chance to win it. You need to beat the team in the final but we were very confident, especially after this game. We played really well and the feeling was, “we maybe have a cup here?””

That would NOT be the case.

Goals from Steven Anderson and current St Johnstone boss Steven MacLean secured a 2-0 victory for the Perth Saints at Celtic Park, leaving Ciftci to rue a host of spurned opportunities.

“I think we played much better until a little mistake, which can happen always,” continued Ciftci. “Then we got so many chances — Ryan Dow hitting the post; me hitting the bar; shots from far — and it wouldn’t go in.

“Towards the end of the game I thought, no matter what we do — if we played for two, three, four hours — the ball just does not want to go in. It was not meant to be.”

A car crash fixture

As well as reminiscing about his endeavours on the pitch, Ciftci also recounted the time Calum Butcher smashed into his car on the way to a fixture against St Mirren in March 2014, prompting the fury of boss Jackie McNamara.

However, bygones would be bygones when Ciftci notched a dramatic 90th-minute winner.

“We left the hotel and in my car, it was me and Rado (Cierzniak),” added Ciftci. “In the other car it was Calum Butcher, Morgaro Gomis and others. I was driving in front.

“I had to take a right turn to go onto the motorway and — I don’t know what was happening — but Calum just smashed into my car from behind.

“We called the gaffer and said, “we are going to be a little bit late, not too much — me and Calum just crashed into each other!”

“He battered me on the phone, saying “you f****** idiot, why is it always you? You were speeding for sure!”

“I said, “gaffer, I swear, I didn’t do anything.”

“We arrived at the stadium. Rado is older and the gaffer knew that he would never lie so I asked him to come in with me and tell the truth. Rado told the gaffer, “he is telling the truth”.

“I was told to go out there and not let the gaffer down — otherwise that game was my fault. So I HAD to score that last-minute goal otherwise I didn’t know what would happen!”