St Johnstone have taken former £13 million Champions League ace Roman Eremenko on trial.

Eremenko, younger brother of ex-Kilmarnock favourite Alexei, will start a training stint in Perth on Wednesday. Simo Valakari wants to assess the 37-year-old attacking midfielder with a view to a short-term deal. Eremenko, who starred for Udinese, Dynamo Kiev, Rubin Kazan and CSKA Moscow, has been playing in the Finnish top flight with IF Gnistan.

Valakari reported: “Roman is coming over for a few days to train with us. It will work both ways. We can see him and he can have a look at us. That’s the best way to do it before we sit down and talk about things further. Roman has all the qualities that his big brother had - good vision, good technical ability and is someone who can see passes.

READ MORE: Celtic dream starting XI for RIGHT NOW – Brendan Rodgers seals his perfect transfer window in 3 moves

READ MORE: Transfer news LIVE as Rangers and Celtic plus Aberdeen, Hearts and Hibs eye signings

“But what makes him different - and I mean this in a positive way because I worked with his brother before - is he’s more about ‘the team’. Alexei was all about the attack, he just wanted to go forward all the time! Roman works harder for the team, which you have to do when you've played at the level he has.

“He’s been in the Champions League with some very big clubs. Roman is not a flashy player, he does the simple things very, very well. He has a real football brain; it’s like a computer inside his head. It will be very interesting to see him training with us, see how his level is compared to our levels. I’m excited about it but we can’t get too far ahead of ourselves because at the moment it’s just training.”

Eremenko became the most expensive Finnish footballer ever after winning the Ukrainian title with Dynamo Kiev and moving to Rubin Kazan in 2011. His career went off the rails with CSKA five years later when he tested positive for cocaine and served a two-year ban. Capped 73 times by Finland, Eremenko was emotional about the chance of a move to Scotland according to Valakari.

The Perth gaffer said: “My son, Onni, has been working with Roman to keep himself fit over the festive season. He called me to say he’s in very good shape, so I should contact him to see how he feels about it. He played the Finnish season and was excellent for his club. I’ve admired him for a long time and obviously I watch the league back home.

“He was even better last season than the year before so, even though he’s 37, he’s got a lot left to give. There will be question marks about his age and his past. Roman feels because of his mistakes - which were a long way in the past - he hasn’t fulfilled the whole potential in his career.

“He was almost in tears when I phoned him to ask if he wanted to come here because he didn’t think he’d get another chance abroad. I just told him to come over, see how things work out and then we’ll talk. After a few days we will know better.”

Ex-Nottingham Forest midfielder Jake Taylor is also in training with the Premiership strugglers. The 26-year-old hasn’t played since leaving Morecambe at the end of last season.