Aberdeen’s in demand teen star Calvin Ramsay is worth a minimum of £5million.
A host of English top flight clubs are weighing up a bid for for the 18-year-old in the January transfer window.
Ideally right-back Ramsay will spend another year at Pittodrie to get more game time.
However with big-hitters like Manchester United and Liverpool tracking the teen he could exit in the winter window.
Leicester City, Newcastle United and Watford are the latest clubs to join the race to land the Scotland U21 international.
Everton, West Ham and Southampton as also monitoring Ramsay.
With so much interest the hope for Aberdeen, if Ramsay is to move on, is that there can be a bidding war for the defender.
Any transfer fee could then potentially rocket beyond £5m.
Crucially chairman Dave Cormack said Aberdeen don’t have to sell players, including Ramsay, in January.
The Dons are in a strong position and must play hardball when English top flight clubs come calling.
If they are not willing to pay the big money Ramsay is worth they can move on.
If there are three or four teams fighting for his signature Aberdeen can sit back and say put your money on the table.
The first offer, no matter what it is, should be rejected. Then tell the club we will see what the others are offering.
If a Premier League club wants Ramsay enough they will eventually pay the right money.
Even £5m plus could prove to be an absolute bargain if Ramsay develops to reach his phenomenal potential.
He ticks all the boxes. He is starring at first team level already at such a young age, has huge potential and a fantastic attitude.
Although only 18, Ramsay has the physical strength to go with the skill and will fit into English top flight football quite easily.
Ramsay would be used as a right-back, wing-back or right winger.
Clubs down south clearly see him in the same position as Liverpool’s Andy Robertson, but on the right.
Ramsay has all the attributes to make an impact in England.
If the Pittodrie Youth Academy graduate reaches his potential after he is transferred the Dons can continue to cash in by putting in clauses in the contract.
That should be a sell-on clause if he moves on again and also payments if, as I expect, he becomes a full Scotland international.
I have absolutely no doubt if Ramsay continues his current trajectory he will break into the Scotland squad.
Ramsay is an exceptional talent and if he stays beyond January he will be pivotal to any bid for success in the second half of the season.
However you can’t blame Aberdeen if they do sell a young player like Ramsay after the financial impact of the coronavirus pandemic.
Despite chairman Cormack saying they don’t have to sell the Dons have still, like other clubs, been hit hard financially by the pandemic.
Ramsay is not the only talented full-back to emerge from the Pittodrie Youth system as Jack MacKenzie has also impressed this season.
Left-back MacKenzie is also an exciting talent who will inevitably be the subject of interest from other clubs as well.
Aberdeen moved quickly to tie down both Ramsay and MacKenzie to long term contracts.
Ramsay is contracted until summer 2024 and earlier this month MacKenzie penned an extension until summer 2025.
It was a great move by Aberdeen to tie them both down to long term deals.
They are in control of the situation and can cash in if the offer is right.
Or they can continue to get the benefit of two exciting full-backs in the first team until an offer too good to refuse comes in.
Aberdeen must sign another striker
Aberdeen must sign another goalscoring striker in the January transfer window.
Summer signing Christian Ramirez has netted 12 goals so far this season which is a decent return.
United States international Ramirez has done well as he is effectively up top himself.
However the Dons need to sign another goalscorer as back up and to offer another option.
Ideally Aberdeen will also land a young player in the style of Scott Brown.
Captain Brown was absent in the 1-0 loss at Hibs and it really showed.
The veteran midfielder leads by example and drives the team on.
Aberdeen will face a huge January transfer window because English teams will come looking to sign stars like Ryan Hedges, Calvin Ramsay and Lewis Ferguson.
Dons boss Stephen Glass has already admitted it looks likely Hedges will not sign a new deal.
Blackburn Rovers had a bid for Hedges rejected in the summer and are set to launch a fresh approach in January.
Aberdeen need to come out of the transfer window stronger than they enter it.
To sum up 2021 it was a year of inconsistency and frustration.
There was major upheaval with the change of manager in March, all during the coronavirus pandemic when crowds were locked out.
This campaign began so positively with a run of early wins before a 10 game winless slump.
It has been a rollercoaster season of ups and downs.
Aberdeen registered four wins from five games in December so hopefully they are now on the up.
A lot will depend on the business, in and out, during January as to whether that upwards trajectory can continue apace.
Porteous ban offers no consolation
The three game ban to Hibernian defender Ryan Porteous is no consolation to Aberdeen who lost 1-0 at Easter Road.
Porteous should have received a straight red after catching Christian Ramirez with a flailing leg in the Dons’ 1-0 loss.
Yet he wasn’t even booked by referee Alan Muir for the reckless challenge.
Porteous then went on to score the winner in the second half – when he shouldn’t have been on the pitch.
The defender will miss three matches after admitting to violent conduct in the clash with Ramirez.
He received a two-game ban for the offence, with an additional suspension coming since he was sent off earlier in the season.
The ban is no consolation for Aberdeen.
