Aberdeen boss Jim Goodwin has paid tribute to the club’s unsung scouting heroes for continuing to unearth exciting talent.
Goodwin insists the scouting team closely monitoring youth football deserve credit for sourcing rising Dons stars of the future.
In recent seasons, Aberdeen have raked in millions from the sale of youth academy graduates Calvin Ramsay and Scott McKenna to England.
Aberdeen have banked £7.5 million in transfer fees in the last two seasons from the sale of Ramsay and McKenna.
That cash injection could ultimately rise to £12m due to add-ons.
Aberdeen secured a club record fee of £4.5m for the transfer of teenage right-back Ramsay to Liverpool this summer.
That could jump to £8m with achievable add-ons should Ramsay reach certain milestones with the Anfield club.
Scotland international centre-back McKenna was sold to Nottingham Forest for £3m in September 2020.
Aberdeen also landed an additional £1m when McKenna was promoted to the English top flight earlier this year.
Both those players, now at English top-flight clubs, were discovered by Pittodrie’s scouting network.
Youth academy graduate Connor Barron, 20, is also one of the hottest prospects in Scottish football.
Barron was short-listed for the PFA Scotland Young Player of the Year last season.
Midfielder Barron is set to return to training this week, after missing the entire season so far with a knee injury.
Goodwin hailed the youth scouts for their role in landing those stars… with more to come.
He said: “The scouts of all the youth teams deserve a lot of credit.
“Sometimes that goes unnoticed.
“We have to remember there are scouts at youth level who find players like Connor Barron, Calvin Ramsay and Ryan Duncan at a very early age.
“I am the lucky one that then has the opportunity to give them game time.”
Youth academy success stories
Aberdeen now have three youth academy graduates in the English Premier League.
Scotland international winger Ryan Fraser progressed through the Pittodrie Youth Academy and transferred to then League One Bournemouth in January 2013.
Aberdonian Fraser rose up through the divisions with the Cherries and made more than 100 appearances in the top flight.
Capped 22 times, Fraser moved to Newcastle United in 2020.
Aberdeen’s latest youth star to make a breakthrough is Barron.
Scotland U21 cap Barron is reportedly on the radar of Celtic, Premier League Brentford and Belgian club Genk.
The midfielder was the Dons stand-out performer in the second half of last season and is integral to boss Goodwin’s first team plans.
Aberdeen opened talks with Barron early in the summer transfer window in a bid to tie the midfielder down to a longer deal.
Barron is contracted until summer 2024.
Influential midfielder Barron has yet to feature this campaign due to the knee injury he suffered in a 2-1 pre-season friendly defeat of Buckie Thistle.
Multi-million-pound star Ramsay
The Pittodrie youth system produced right-back Ramsay, who in turn produced the most assists of any teen defender in world football last season.
That form earned a big money transfer to Liverpool.
Aberdeen moved to sign right-back Jayden Richardson from Nottingham Forest in a £300,000 deal as replacement for Ramsay.
Aberdonian Ramsay has yet to feature for Liverpool due to injury, but is closing in on a return to fitness.
Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp recently named the teenager in his 25-man squad for the Champions League.
Welcome to Liverpool, @calvinramsay03 ✍😁 pic.twitter.com/uyreZRELfK
— Liverpool FC (@LFC) June 19, 2022
Ramsay’s status as number one back up to Trent Alexander-Arnold was indicated by the exit of Sepp van den Berg on loan to Schalke 04.
Van den Berk was the only other natural right-back at Anfield apart from Alexander-Arnold and Ramsay.
The new teens emerging at Pittodrie
The next batch of young stars emerging at Pittodrie are spearheaded by winger Ryan Duncan and centre-back Jack Milne.
Both have been promoted to the first team squad this season.
Duncan, 18, netted his first senior goal for the Dons when scoring late on in a 5-0 Premiership defeat of Livingston at Pittodrie.
The winger spent a successful period on loan at League 1 Peterhead last season.
Duncan has made six substitute appearances this season so far.
Defender Milne, 19, has made three appearances off the bench this season.
Milne recently penned a long-term contract tying him to Aberdeen until summer 2025.
Goodwin said: “We promoted Ryan and Jack from the academy to the first team squad on a full-time basis.
“Ryan has actually done really well in the couple of games he has come on in.
“In the Livingston game, there was an opportunity to give Ryan a chance to show the home fans what he can do.
“Ryan is showing signs of what he is capable of. He is six-foot-two and built like a proper athlete.
“We just have to help his development now.
“They are both great prospects for us.”
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