The Dons are in pole position to sign Preston North End attacker Stevie May on loan – but may be forced to wait until the final hours of deadline day on January 31 to land the Scotland international.
The 24-year-old has not played for the Deepdale club since suffering cruciate ligament damage against Fulham in November 2015.
Preston manager Simon Grayson is reluctant to sanction a loan move to Pittodrie until he strengthens his attacking options with the Lancashire club, Wolves and Leeds among the suitors for former Ireland international Robbie Keane.
Preston have three Championship games before the window closes with Saturday’s trip to Aston Villa followed by the visit of Ipswich and a deadline-day encounter at Cardiff City.
Grayson is unwilling to allow any player to leave on loan until after facing Ipswich on January 28 and is yet to decide whether the best place for May’s comeback is at Preston or a loan spell in Scotland.
Preston do not have a reserve side which has made it difficult for May to build fitness following more than a year out, but he was named on the bench for the club’s surprise 2-0 win against Brighton last Saturday.
May moved from St Johnstone to Sheffield Wednesday in an £800,000 deal in August 2014, but failed to establish himself at Hillsborough and joined Preston 13 months later.
Dundee, Hearts and Hibs are also keen to land the forward, who was capped by Scotland in the 3-1 defeat by England at Parkhead in August 2013, but former club St Johnstone cannot afford the loan deal.
The forward’s preference is to be reunited with Aberdeen manager Derek McInnes, who was in charge of St Johnstone when he came through the ranks at the Perth club.
May was linked with a loan move to the Dons during the 2015 summer transfer window, but was sold to Preston instead.
There is no chance of May, who still has 18 months left on his contract at Preston, making a permanent move to Pittodrie yet.
McInnes is keen to strengthen his squad and said: “Ideally I want to keep the squad as it is and hopefully add one or two to it.”
Midfielder Wes Burns, whose season-long loan deal at Pittodrie was cut short earlier this week, completed a permanent move from Bristol City to Fleetwood Town yesterday.
Burns said: “It’s been a long process on getting the deal done and over the line.
“It’s good to be able to concentrate on this and hopefully reach the form I showed last season.”
