New Aberdeen signing Chris Forrester hopes to bring goals to Pittodrie after completing his move from Peterborough.
The former Posh club captain has signed a three-year deal, subject to international clearance, after an undisclosed fee was agreed with the ABAX Stadium outfit.
Former Republic of Ireland under-21 international Forrester, a versatile midfielder, had been transfer-listed by the League 1 club due to a club policy that sees all players in the final year of their contracts made available to go.
Forrester is the first signing of the summer for Aberdeen, with a pre-contract signed for Hamilton Accies midfielder Lewis Ferguson however the two clubs have been unable to agree a compensation package.
With the loss of Kenny McLean and Ryan Christie, who have returned to parent clubs Norwich City and Celtic respectively, manager Derek McInnes is keen to strengthen his options in the middle of the park.
The new Dons signing is grateful of a fresh start and hopes to get his name on the scoresheet regularly in the red shirt.
Forrester said: “One of my main aims coming up here is to get back amongst the goals, be a goalscoring midfielder rather than just sitting in the middle passing the ball. I think in midfield you need to get around the pitch, so I want to see myself up there pressing the game. I want to create the goal that wins us the game.
“Derek said he sees me as an important player in the team, which is music to my ears. He sees me as being the main passer and that’s stuff I like to hear. Over the last few seasons passing has been one of my main strengths – I’m not afraid to get on the ball, get the game going and pass it to the lads who can score the goals. But I want to be the one receiving the ball and scoring a few goals myself.
“As soon as my agent told me of interest from Aberdeen, I felt I needed a fresh start from Peterborough. Things didn’t go so well last season and I knew the stature of the club. I’m looking forward to the challenge.”
He joined Peterborough from St Pat’s in Ireland in August 2015 and was named captain by ex-boss Grant McCann in June 2016. However a year later he was stripped of the captaincy, with McCann believing it had affected his performances and instead handed it to another Dons target, defender Jack Baldwin.
The Dons are expected back in pre-season training later this month ahead of the Europa League qualifiers, which will not faze Forrester given his experience of them in Ireland.
He said: “My first European trip was with Bohemians when I was 18. We went to Ljubljana in Slovenia and that was a massive experience for me. I was doing it every season I was in Ireland and had some really good results. We played against Legia Warsaw, which was a massive game. I’ve got plenty of experience in Europe and hopefully I can bring that to the team.”