Goal hero Teddy Jenks aims to emulate James Maddison at Aberdeen and then make his mark on the English top flight.
Loan star Jenks came off the bench to net a superb late winner in the 1-0 defeat of St Johnstone.
The teenager is on loan from Premier League Brighton until the end of the season.
Jenks is highly rated at the Seagulls and signed a long term contract extension last year until summer 2023.
The 19-year-old aims to make a major impact at Aberdeen in the bid to force his way into the Brighton first team.
Jenks wants to follow the same career trajectory as Maddison who is an established English top flight star with Leicester City.
Signed for £20m by Leicester, Maddison, 25, was on loan at Aberdeen for six months in the 2016-17 season from then parent club Norwich City.
Jenks said: “Obviously James Maddison is someone to look at.
“I knew he’d been up to Aberdeen, before I came here.
“If I can do anything similar to that, I would be very happy.
‘There is no better way to learn how to play first-team football than by playing first-team football somewhere.
“And this is the perfect place to start.”
‘You’re always told to play to the whistle’
England U17 international Jenks netted the vital winner in the 83rd minute in Perth.
It was the teenager’s second goal for Aberdeen having scored in the 2-1 defeat of Livingston on August 8.
The ball, from a headed clearance, hit Jenks’ arm before he unleashed the strike for the winner against St Johnstone.
🎯 Yesterday's winner in front of the Red Army courtesy of Teddy Jenks.#StandFree | @tedjenks_ pic.twitter.com/37RFgOWBI4
— Aberdeen FC (@AberdeenFC) December 12, 2021
Jenks said: “I don’t remember too much, I just remember it dropping at my feet and me peeling away to celebrate with the fans.
“You’ve still got to put it in the next.
“And you’re always told play to the whistle.
“It bounced at my feet, I hit it and it went in.
“The ref didn’t blow and we end up winning the game 1-0, which is the most important thing.
“We’ve had enough go against us this season.
“We’ve had a few … I wouldn’t say poor decisions. But we’ve had stuff go against us.
“So it’s nice to get one for us, maybe.
“It does even itself out. We’re just delighted with the win.”
Jenks’ goal extends winning run
Jenks’ goal fired the Dons to a third straight Premiership win.
It is the first time Aberdeen have won three consecutive league matches since September last year.
The in-form Reds are now just one point behind fourth placed Motherwell.
Jenks insists it was vital they secure a win in Perth to keep the recent momentum going.
He said: “That was my second goal and I couldn’t be more happy with it.
“Especially as we got the win – that’s the most important thing.
‘Winning against St Johnstone was important because that’s exactly the sort of game we were losing at the start of the season.
‘To get a scrappy win – but a win – is really important, because we’ve had good performances for a while.
“The results just hadn’t been there.”