Inverness Caledonian Thistle fail to agree new contract with Musa Dibaga as they are now looking for new goalkeeper
INVERNESS Caledonian Thistle have confirmed goalkeeper Musa Dibaga has turned down a contract offer to remain with the club next season.
The 25-year-old will leave the League One outfit after deciding not to accept an offer for him to remain at the Caledonian Stadium for the 2025/26 campaign.
Now the club say they are actively looking at finding his replacement to fill his gloves next season.
Dibaga arrived at Inverness Caledonian Thistle in August last year with his only previous experience of football in Scotland in the Lowland League with Bo’Ness United and Whitehill Welfare.
He was originally brought in as back-up to Jack Newman who was on loan from Dundee United.
However, after Newman suffered an injury, Dibaga took his chance and became the club’s number one and impressed throughout the campaign to help Inverness avoid relegation despite a 15-point deduction as they finished in seventh place.
Dibaga was named Inverness Caledonian Thistle fans’ player of the year and he was also called up to the Gambia squad for their World Cup qualifying matches with Kenya and Ivory Coast in March.
Inverness Caledonian Thistle interim chief executive officer Charlie Christie confirmed to the Inverness Courier that Dibaga turned down a new deal and will be leaving the club.
He said: “Musa’s agent told head coach Scott Kellacher at the weekend that he has decided to go elsewhere.
“It is quite disappointing as we were led to believe that he was going to sign.
“There is not much we can do about it as he is out of contract and he is entitled to move.
“It looked positive that he was going to stay, but he has changed his mind.
“I felt Inverness Caledonian Thistle would have been a good place for him to continue his career and we looked to make the deal as attractive as possible, which included accommodation.
“When he was with us, he got his first professional contract and he gained his first international call-up, but he has decided to go elsewhere.
“He was a great signing and was good to have around the club as he was popular with the players, staff and fans.
The most frustrating thing is after speaking to his agent, we honestly believed he was going to sign.
“It is disappointing, but these things happen in football.
“Now we have to turn our attention elsewhere and move on.”
Christie says despite the club not being able to sign new players due to still being in administration, they are actively looking for Dibaga’s replacement.
He said: “Scott Kellacher has a couple of positive irons in the fire and has been working hard over the last few weeks speaking to people. He has been looking for new goalkeepers as Musa had not committed to the club.
“It will be nice if one of his positive irons in the fire does come to fruition.”
Christie said Inverness Caledonian Thistle continue to remain in talks with out of contract players Paul Allan, Remi Savage and Charlie Gilmour regarding their futures, with 11 players already agreeing new deals.
Christie says that the club still being in administration is a concern for players and their agents. But with administrators BDO holding a vote on a Company Voluntary Arrangement on Thursday, June 5 which could move them out of administration, he hopes that the club will become a more attractive prospect to players.
Christie said: “We are keeping in touch with their agents. But we have said to them there will come a time when we need a finite answer. One of the concerns has been that we are still in administration which is a handicap and some agents have shown concern. But if we can get the meeting and the CVA done in early June, I hope that will make players feel a bit more solid with the club.”
