Sam Cosgrove sees no reason why he cannot become an English Premier League player – but knows he has a way to go yet.
The in-demand Aberdeen striker is attracting attention from a host of clubs south of the border, including Middlesbrough, Stoke City and Derby County, owing to his 19 goals this season and huge development since arriving in the Granite City.
Cosgrove, a £25,000 arrival from Carlisle United in January 2018, joked that he perhaps would not be a fit for his boyhood club Manchester City, but would continue trying to improve as a Dons player.
He said: “As a footballer you want to get as high as you can. I don’t see why I can’t go to the Premier League if the opportunity arises – but I just take each game as it comes. If I keep improving and reach my potential, I’ll be happy wherever I end up.
“I’m a Man City fan. If I could end up there it’d be alright – but I wouldn’t put myself down as Pep Guardiola kind of striker! It’s always been City for me.
“As a player, I can’t help but hear bits and pieces. I try not to surround myself too much in the media stuff but you can’t help but listen to some things. It’s good. I like it. It gives me confidence. It’s nice to know that there’s talk of clubs after. But at the end of the day I’m still focused on playing football. I come into work every day and try and better myself. I think that’s what I’ve got to do.
“There’s no intimidation. If clubs are watching me then all I can do is try my best and show what I’ve been doing. It’s definitely a confidence thing and something that I take pretty seriously. As a player, you know yourself when you’re doing badly but all the attention is an indication where I am at the moment.”
The striker has 31 goals this calendar year and 40 in 75 for Aberdeen. No-one else in the Dons squad has more than four goals this season.
Manager Derek McInnes has spoken in the past about both Scott McKenna and Cosgrove leaving when the time is right, however it is not something that has crossed the 23-year-old’s mind.
Cosgrove added: “At the end of the day that’s not down to me. The club have got a big decision to make but at the minute there’s none to make but at the moment there’s been no bids. Everything is only speculation.
“I’ve still got two years left on my contract and it’s a long time to play football but you see what’s happened in the last 12 months I’ve been here. If that’s anything to go by then I think the next 24 months are to look forward to.
“I came up to Aberdeen a couple of months after probably the toughest spell of my career. In all honesty, I didn’t have a long term plan in place. I just had a short term plan. To get as many games as I could for Aberdeen and get in the starting line up. Scoring all the goals I have done, I would never have thought of doing that.”