Aberdeen defender Mikey Devlin insists no sales pitch was necessary when it came to convincing Lewis Ferguson to join him in making the move from Hamilton Accies to Pittodrie.
Ferguson, 18, was Dons manager Derek McInnes’s first signing of the summer and the teenager showed just why the Aberdeen boss was so keen to get him as he came off the bench to scoring the only goal of the game in his side’s 1-0 friendly win against Falkirk at Arbroath on Wednesday.
Former Accies captain Devlin, who moved to Pittodrie in January, believes the chance to compete for honours is all the sales pitch required when the Dons come calling.
He said: “Lewis didn’t speak to me before coming here. The first I knew about it was when the club announced it but I don’t think anyone needs to speak to anybody else.
“I didn’t speak to anyone about coming to Aberdeen; as soon as the manager spoke to me about coming here I knew I wanted to come.
“It’s a massive club and a fantastic one which competes at the top of the league and wants to win trophies which matches my ambition and a lot of other players out there.”
Ferguson has made an immediate impression on his new team-mates after featuring in the two 1-0 pre-season wins so far and Devlin, who has also played both games as he steps up his recovery from a cruciate ligament injury, is not surprised.
His young team-mate wasted little time in signalling his arrival into the first team squad at Accies and Devlin is not surprised to see history repeating itself with the Dons.
Devlin, who is in the squad for tomorrow’s trip to St Johnstone for Chris Millar’s testimonial (2pm) said: “It was well known he was coming through at Hamilton and the gaffer actually held him back a bit as he was chomping at the bit. He put Darian MacKinnon up in the air in his first training session which most young players wouldn’t go near.
“Daz himself, after 10 seconds of pure rage, realised the boy had a bit about him and it set the tone for how ambitious and how high his standards are so it’s no surprise he is now at a club as big as Aberdeen.
“He was 16 or barely 17 but there was no holding him back. Most boys come in a bit tentative but he came straight in and laid a marker to show what he was all about. It was great to see and I’m delighted he’s here at Aberdeen.
“He’s got a great engine, good quality and great legs. He’s raw and young still at 18 but comes from a great footballing family and I am sure he will reach the heights.”