Aberdeen youth academy graduate Jack Grimmer has given Dons new boy Anthony Stewart a rave review, having played with him in the Wycombe Wanderers backline for the past three years.
Centre-half Stewart, 29, has agreed to move to the north-east on a two-year deal from July – the third defensive reinforcement secured by Reds boss Jim Goodwin in his summer rebuild.
Former Aberdeen youngster Grimmer has been starring alongside Stewart at the English League One Chairboys since 2019.
He gave the Press and Journal the lowdown on his soon-to-depart team-mate, and is convinced the experienced Englishman will help ensure Goodwin’s team are far more solid in the new campaign.
Grimmer thinks Stewart is the type of central defender Aberdeen were “crying out for” as they struggled to keep shut-outs last term.
When the signing was announced, Goodwin described Stewart as “a proper, old-fashioned centre-back that enjoys the art of defending”, which are attributes Grimmer certainly recognises.
However, the 28-year-old, who left Pittodrie in 2012 for Fulham, revealed Stewart also has the technical ability take the ball out from the back.
He said: “Sometimes gaffers say: ‘he’s a no-nonsense defender,’ instead of ‘he’s not good on the ball’, but we started to play out from the back a lot more in the second half of last season, and Anthony fitted into that well.
“When our gaffer (Gareth Ainsworth) encouraged it, you could see it breed confidence through him a bit on the ball and he was only getting better.
“It depends how Jim Goodwin wants to play, but it’ll be interesting to see how he fits in.
“He’s got both sides – notoriously for us, he was last-ditch tackles and headers, because it’s how we were winning games – which wasn’t good for the heart, let me tell you – but he’s good at either side (of the game).”
Grimmer says Stewart is strong in the air and tactically versatile, adding: “He’s right-sided.
“He’s 5ft 10/5ft 11, but decent in the air for his size. It’s something that works for him – strikers underestimate him and he’s not shy on winning any headers. Aberdeen will have seen those stats and statistically he’s right up there.
“But what his size also gives him is that it helps him when he goes down the channel.
“We played a (back) three quite often last season and sometimes he would play right of the three, as well as centre of the three. But, right of the three, he was comfortable going down the channel.”
A measured character with ‘presence’ whose experience will help others
Stewart is the oldest, most experienced signing made so far by Goodwin, having made his Wycombe debut in 2011 after coming through the youth ranks at Adams Park.
His last game for the club was on the big stage – a 2-0 defeat to Sunderland at Wembley in the League One Play-off Final.
Personality-wise, Grimmer says the level-headed Stewart is “never too high, never too low”, and isn’t one to shout and scream on the pitch, but does “talk a lot” to keep team-mates right, adding “Once he gets up and running, I’m sure he’ll add that security to the defence.”
Grimmer thinks Stewart’s experience can be a ‘big thing’ for Aberdeen’s younger players and for the team’s results over the next couple of years, explaining: “He has been good having little quiet words with players in the changing room. He can be vocal, but he’s always willing to have conversations one-on-one, or sit in the canteen and discuss things.
“I’m sure it’ll be a big thing for Aberdeen getting some experience in there and somebody they can build the team around, especially in the centre of defence where it’s always needed.”
‘He phoned me last week to ask me about the area’
Out-of-contract with the Chairboys, Stewart sought Grimmer’s counsel when deciding whether to end his long spell with Wycombe and uproot his family for a move to the north-east, with the Granite City native saying: “I was surprised when he phoned me last week to ask me about the area and said the interest was there quite strongly.
“It was quite funny with it being my hometown.
“With the Wycombe fans on social media, you can tell they’re sad to see him leave, and the players in our group chat are gutted to see him go.
“I just really hope he does well and kicks on.”
Grimmer joked he was initially torn about what to say – “I was like, it’s all going on at Wycombe, you need to stay here like” – before adding earnestly: “One of the things we discussed when he was speaking me about the move was that he’s a family man and, being from London, it’s quite a big move to move your family up to Aberdeen.
“But he’s obviously ready for the new experience, and, from talking to him, it sounds like he’s ready to jump in with both feet.
“He’s with his partner, and they have two kids. Being London born and bred, they’re very close to extended family and things.
“I’m sure they’ll all be up to visit him in Aberdeen when he gets settled.”
Grimmer revealed, following a visit to Aberdeen, including the Dons’ Cormack Park training ground, Stewart was “very complimentary”.
But he made sure his Stewart understood the demands on the team from the fans at Pittodrie will be more intense than at Adams Park, as Goodwin seeks to lead the Reds back up the Premiership table after a demoralising 2021/22 campaign.
Grimmer said: “We discussed a bit about how the pressure for playing for Wycombe and playing for Aberdeen are poles apart, and it’s how you deal with that.
“I really hope him and the team in general start next season well, get confidence and can kick on from there.”
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