Aberdeen chairman Dave Cormack insists the unsuccessful Ronald Hernandez experiment has not put the club off from casting the net wider than Britain for players.
Venezuelan international Hernandez looks set to leave Pittodrie next month after failing to make an impact since arriving from Stabaek in January.
Aberdeen’s £800,000 outlay was a significant departure from their recent business in the transfer market and, with just three starts in his time in Scotland, it is clear Hernandez has struggled in his new surroundings.
McInnes is confident the club will recoup its investment when the right-back leaves and, while he is disappointed the move has not worked out for both parties, Cormack has no regrets.
He said: “We still feel it was the right move to make. Not every move works in every market place, but I am going to leave Derek to work with Ronny, who is a fantastic guy, to work through where he takes his career from here.
“We were aware of the player who was highly talented. Other clubs were after him and we have certainly felt it was important for us to spread our wings related to scouting and bringing other players in.
“We made the call with Ronny and he came in what was his pre-season. By the time the season ended because of Covid, he was dealing with being in Aberdeen on his own without his wife and daughter.
“He has even been back to play for Venezuela and not seen them. So a difficult situation all round.”
McInnes believes Hernandez was a victim of circumstance with Covid-19 and a change of formation conspiring to restrict his opportunities at Pittodrie.
Cormack agrees, but insists the club will try to assist the player in a fresh start at another club.
The Dons chairman said: “We changed shape, we moved the system where we have wingers effectively as wing-backs, as opposed to full-backs.
“Clearly we feel for Ronny just now being away from his wife and daughter. That is important.
“We will work with Ronny and with how he wants to play it so that he can get, if possible, a move in January.
“There were a number of clubs trying to sign Ronny last January. As far as I’m aware, through our football department, there is still interest in the player. Once there is anything to say, Derek will say something on it.”
We discussed the Ronald Hernandez situation on this week’s Northern Goal podcast, available here:
Should the Dons recoup their investment next month, it is unclear how much of it will be reinvested in strengthening the first team.
Covid-19 has left a major financial black hole at Pittodrie and Cormack is trying to balance the books and give his manager the support he wants.
He said: “It is not as simple as here is a percentage you would take of something like that. We spend money as a football budget and can choose to spend it on transfer fees.
“Or we can choose to spend it on wages. Obviously you prefer to spend the money on wages as opposed to transfer fees.
“With where we are with Covid, we are £7m in the hole and we are not out of it yet.
“It is a tough haul. The loan from the government loan scheme, depending on what it is, will be helpful. We just have to wait and see.”
McInnes, for his part, states his preference remains to buy local if possible, but he remains open to casting the net wider for new players.
The Aberdeen manager said: “Buying Scottish talent has always been beneficial to us. That would always be my preferred choice. We’ve benefitted from that all the way back to Sir Alex Ferguson’s era in the eighties, spending significant amounts of money.
“Spending thousands to make millions is what we’ve always tried to achieve and getting good young players form other Scottish clubs, as well as producing our own players, is very high in our recruitment.
“It’s not easy getting clubs to sell. Getting players at the right time, for example Lewis Ferguson – there is an element of risk with that with somebody so young.
“There are others, the Graeme Shinnies, the Kenny McLeans and the like, we can see with a bit more certainty what we’re getting.
“That would always be my preferred choice. But we’ve had some criticism over the years, maybe that we’ve looked too much at the UK for recruitment and what we have done is significantly invest in recruitment, by looking at other leagues across Europe.”