Former Aberdeen striker Frank McDougall believes Aberdeen should cash in on Sam Cosgrove if Stoke City make a bid for the striker before the window closes.
Stoke boss Michael O’Neill has been a long-time admirer of the Dons striker and reportedly had the Englishman watched in the recent 2-1 defeat to Rangers earlier this month.
With the window set to close on February 1 O’Neill could test Aberdeen’s resolve by making a bid for Cosgrove, who turned down a move to French side Guingamp in the summer, and McDougall believes the Dons should jump at the chance to sell their prized asset and reinvest in the squad.
He said: “If Stoke follow up their interest in Sam Cosgrove I would sell him. The return from the strikers at Aberdeen has not been good enough this season. If it was me and I received a decent offer I’d cash in and reinvest the money in the team.
“Every player is for sale in Scotland. You’ve seen it with Virgil van Dijk and you’ll see it again with Odsonne Edouard and Alfredo Morelos. I’ve got no doubt about that.”
Aberdeen’s attackers Cosgrove and Curtis Main have struggled for goals so far this season and have amassed six goals between them.
McDougall believes the poor return so far makes the decision to freshen up the side an easy one for his former club.
He said: “If clubs in England can cherry pick the best players from the likes of Celtic and Rangers then what chance do Aberdeen have?
“It doesn’t matter who it is but you have got to be scoring goals to win games. You can be the greatest team in the world but if nobody is putting the ball in the back of the net then you are going to struggle. That’s the whole point of the game.
“Celtic are at rock bottom at the minute and they are still six points clear of the Dons. It’s got to hurt the manager that his side hasn’t been able to capitalise on that.
“Aberdeen could use that money to strengthen their team.”
While McDougall believes the Dons are capable of closing the gap on the top two in Scottish football he believes the days of Aberdeen challenging for the championship will not be back any time soon.
He said: “Let’s say Aberdeen sold Cosgrove for £2million. What does that buy you in the market? Not enough to challenge the dominance of the big two in Scotland. In fact £5million isn’t enough.
“For me, Derek McInnes has a done a great job at Aberdeen but I expect Celtic or Rangers to win the league for the next 100 years unless someone comes into a club and hands a manager a huge amount of money to build a team.
“That’s just how it is. Aberdeen broke the monopoly and led the way for eight years. Our team was sensational. We had the best winger in the business in Peter Weir and some fantastic players.
“But the way the game is today the lads I played with would be offered absolute fortunes to go and play in England.
“I know fans want to see Aberdeen challenging for the title but I don’t see any team doing it unless there is major investment.”
