After he passed his medical, Niculae joined Scottish Premier League's Inverness Caledonian Thistle, signing a two-year contract on 18 July 2007. His first application for a work permit was rejected, but Inverness appealed and asked fans to sign a petition to have the player's permit granted. After his appeal he was granted a work permit and became eligible to play. On 11 August, Niculae became the first Romanian who played in the SPL, after he debuted for Inverness in a 1–2 away defeat against Motherwell. He scored his first goals on 28 August, netting a brace against Arbroath in a 3–1 win in the Scottish League Cup. He opened his league account on 8 December, netting twice against Hibernian in a 2–0 victory, ending a 14-matches goalless strike in the SPL. He scored another brace in late December in a 3–1 home victory over Kilmarnock. He was awarded the "Clydesdale Bank Player of the Month" award for his four goals and two penalties obtained against Celtic and Heart of Midlothian in December, helping his team to pick up 15 points out of 18.