It is understood that he flew into Inverness yesterday for exploratory talks with the club. 

The 26 year old striker was released by Bundesliga side Mainz (6app/0gls) at the end of the German season when they were relegated. He has previously played for Dinamo Bucharest (100app/43gls), Sporting Lisbon (59app/14gls) and Standard Liege (26app/4gls) as well as playing 28 times for his country and scoring 12 goals

Considering the calibre of player that Niculae may be, not surprisingly a lot of the talk has surrounded what his wage demands would be and whether Caley Thistle can actually afford him ... 

Speaking in the Press & Journal, as an aside to the Dean McDonald signing, Director of Football Graeme Bennett said: "We approached Marius and he has come over for talks. But his financial demands, based on what he can get elsewhere, may be too difficult for us to meet. We will see."

Club Chairman Alan Savage, in the same article, went on to mention how Inverness Caledonian Thistle is now a well known name in Romania thanks in no small part to the recent tie-in with former Internationals Gheorghe Hagi and Gheorghe Popescu. Savage said: "The talk of Bucharest is Inverness Caledonian Thistle, believe it or not, and that is all down to Hagi and Popescu. I think that we are on the map and people respect us."

One of the biggest positives of this whole story, even if the signing doesnt happen is the eagerness of the player to actually come to Inverness and even discuss terms. Given the perpetual rumblings of the remoteness of Inverness when trying to sign Scottish players from the central belt, it is refreshing that an established international player doesnt seem to find that to be a hindrance.

Speaking in the Daily Mail, Graeme Bennett once again cautioned people that the move may falter due to finances but also praised the player for his willingness to consider ICT. "Marius's financial demands may be too difficult for us to meet. (But) we'll see what transpires, we have been impressed by his eagerness to investigate a move to this club."

The player himself, however gave hope that the signing may happen and made no secret of the fact that signing for Caley Thistle would in his eyes be a stepping stone for a move to (presumably) one of the Old Firm or a Premiership side in England. Speaking to the Daily Record he said "I've been offered a very big opportunity by Inverness, it is a big deal. I'm hoping to get the chance to play well and score a lot of goals in the Scottish league. If I can do that, maybe I can move on to a bigger stage in the country or England."

In the same article, Graeme Bennett was also quoted as saying " Signing Niculae would be a major coup for us. He is a very high-profile player and his CV is right from the top drawer. It would be wrong to go overboard at this stage because there is still some things to sort out. Even if we could get him over here for a year, it would be terrific for the club."

In the last couple of hours (wed 4 July), TeamTalk have been reporting that the player is now talking over the possible transfer with his family. Graeme Bennett said "He is thinking things over but I'm hopeful. Chairman Alan Savage and I had a good meeting with him and with 26 caps he's got real quality. We want an early answer one way or another as there is a Turkish club also interested. But all going well he could be at our Italian training camp."

If the club do manage to pull off this signing then the last few days will show that the club can and will look further than Dingwall for new signings and also that the often derided link with Hagi and Popescu may indeed bear some interesting fruit.