The Scottish Transfer Window (1/42)- Aberdeen
A series where I analyse the transfer window of every single club in Scotland's top four leagues.
The summer transfer window is yet to properly kick into high gear - only officially opening on June 14th - yet that has not stopped teams from up and down the country snagging new acquisitions from around the world.
Rangers have been busy boys early in the window adding 5 new additions; ranging from Motherwell number one Liam Kelly, to Moroccan goal-getter Hamza Igamane. However, their old firm counterparts are yet to make a signing with the departure of Sead Haksabanovic to Malmo the only notable sell. But what about the other clubs in the 42? What are the more lesser known acquisitions around Scotland and how do they influence the teams they have signed for.
While we are at it, lets cause some controversy by giving each club a lettered grade (or a N/A if no signings have been made) as well as analysis on how the signings will fit each club. This is part one of a forty-two part series where I look at every single club in Scotlands top 4 leagues.
Today we will look at Aberdeen as they look set to rebuild this summer under new manager Jimmy Thelin.
Aberdeen
Incomings;
Gavin Molloy - Shelbourne: £75k
Dimitar Mitov - St. Johnstone: Undisclosed
Peter Ambrose - Újpest FC: Undisclosed
Jimmy Thelin - Elfsborg: 6 figure compensation
Outgoings;
Connor Barron - Rangers: Free
Kieran Ngwenya - Dunfermline: Free
Aaron Reid - Airdrie: Free
Kelle Roos - Unattached
Anthony Stewart - Unattached
Jonny Hayes - Retired
Who is Jimmy Thelin?
Aberdeen started the window strong, appointing Jimmy Thelin as the Dons newest head coach. Thelin arrived to the Scottish east coast after an impressive stint at Elfsborg, guiding the Borås side to an impressive 2nd place finish.
Thelin’s philosophy is attack focused:
“We are here for one reason - to work hard for Aberdeen FC. If you have that, for me it is quite straightforward. Strong attacking, try to create as many scoring chances as possible.”
I like Thelin a lot. He’s a coach that has spent a long time at Elfsborg, bringing along one of the clubs most successful periods, as well as raking in plenty of profit. If he can do the same at the Dons, he sets the club up for a successful future.
Tactically Thelin opts for a 4-2-3-1 or a 4-3-3 using the four attacking options to trigger the teams press high up the field. Thelin loved a progressive pass into the box (either via long ball or short) at Elfsborg as seen with this graph from Total Football Analysis.
Aberdeens main man remains
With Bojan Miovski still at the club currently, the Swedes side will have a guaranteed twenty goal striker and thus the grade is high purely for keeping hold oh the Macedonian so far. The fact is that his departure has changed from a matter of time to just a likely possibility with Miovski himself hinting the possibility of him remaining at Pittodrie going into the new season. Despite the disappointing team around him, Miovski still managed to make his impact and Thelin will be praying that the Macedonian bagsman can keep his antics up.
Who are the new signings?
The signing of Mitov is shrewd, replacing the out of contract Roos with arguably the second best goalkeeper in Scotland last year; behind Butland of course. Mitov had a save percentage of 74.2%, only Will Dennis of Killie(76.4%), Zander Clarke of Hearts (74.7%) and Roos himself (74.7%) had a higher save percentage. Mitov, however, faced twenty more shots on target than second place Roos. Aberdeen will be hoping that Mitov is one of the solutions to the Dons leaky defence of last season.
Another potential solution to the Dons defensive woes is Gavin Molloy from Shelbourne. Molloy is a bargain pick up - costing 75k - with the 22 year old being a player who can develop with the clubs new philosophy. Primarily a centre-half, the Irishman is more than apt in playing in midfield providing much needed utility and depth in multiple positions in the teams skeleton. Molloy comes to the Granite city with high reputation in his native Ireland.
Peter Ambrose is another young player, bought in under the ‘Miovski method’, signing the Nigerian from Újpest in Hungary - the same nation Miovski was bought from. Ambrose is a forward with excellent physical tools - 6ft tall, pacey and strong - but its his movement that will make him a devastating forward option. Not neccesarily a starter, I predict he will be an excellent weapon for Theilin off the bench where he is able to run tired defences ragged.
Big Losses?
As losses go, Connor Barron’s departure will be frustrating, especially to the old firm. I think Barron is a good player, but he is definitely not the irreplaceable player than Miovski is. That being said the Barron sized hole in midfield is yet to properly be addressed, whether it actually does or not is up for debate, with Shinnie, Clarkson and Polvara providing good competition. The contract situation of Junior Hoilett is yet to be resolved which will worry Dons fans. Although, if contract talks were to begin, its likely to be after Canada’s exit from Copa America.
With all this being said, Aberdeen’s starting line-up will look like this in my opinion;
Personally I think that the dons still need an attacking midfielder, another wing option, another full back and potentially another defensive midfielder. Aberdeen should continue to look in smaller European markets, like the Scandinavian countries and Eastern European nations. This method has been successful in recent years with Miovski and Ramadani being bought in and [likely] sold for big profit. IF Aberdeen can continue to tap into these markets - especially with a manager who knows the leagues - Aberdeen could be very successful this season coming.
Grade so far : B+
Thanks for reading
JTB
Cheers mate just shown my nan this