Signing Graeme Shinnie on a permanent deal will be the vital component in Aberdeen’s bid for success in Europe and Scotland.
The influential midfielder has signed a three-year contract with the Dons having thrashed out his exit from English League One side Wigan Athletic.
Aberdeen manager Barry Robson has handed Shinnie the captaincy on a permanent basis.
The 31-year-old was skipper for the second half of last season during his loan spell from Wigan and led the Dons to a third-placed Premiership finish.
A successful club needs an inspirational captain who leads by example both on and off the pitch.
A skipper who embodies the beliefs and ambitions of the club and also forges a unity and connection with the fanbase.
Shinnie is that captain.
He not only drives on his team-mates he mobilises the fanbase.
When intensity is dropping Shinnie will rev up the Dons and ignite the fans.
It is a unity of support and players that could be the key to bringing silverware to Pittodrie for the first time since 2o14.
Aberdeen supporters chant “Graeme Shinnie, he’s one of our own” because they recognise he has the same passion for the club as they do.
They acknowledge the midfielder is completely driven to bring success to Pittodrie.
Fans instinctively know when a player loves the club as much as they do.
Supporters know when Shinnie grabs the club’s badge as a mark of his passion for Aberdeen he means it.
They know the Aberdeen born midfielder possesses the same hunger, desire and love for the club as they do.
Which is why signing Shinnie on a permanent deal is an absolutely fundamental component of Robson’s summer squad rebuild.
Signing Leighton Clarkson on a four-year deal was a major transfer coup from the Dons.
However Shinnie’s permanent capture is the most important signing of the summer as he is the beating heart of the club.
He also has the footballing quality to go with the leadership, passion and drive.
Shinnie captained Aberdeen in cup finals and Europe when previously at Pittodrie before transferring to England in 2019.
The hope within Pittodrie will be that he can join the list of legendary Aberdeen captains who have lifted a trophy with the club.
Russell Anderson was the last Aberdeen captain to lift silverware when leading the Dons to League Cup glory in 2014.
The parallels between Anderson and Shinnie are clear as both were born and raised in Aberdeen and returned to their home city club for another spell after time in England.
All that is missing for Shinnie is to join Anderson in lifting a trophy with the Reds.
Thankfully the ridiculously harsh ban inflicted by the SFA on Shinnie late last season did not deter him from returning to Scotland.
A VAR review of a tackle by Shinnie where the midfielder clearly won the ball in a 50-50 challenge with Ross County’s Jack Baldwin resulted in a red card.
After the referee had given no foul.
The SFA’s independent appeals panel dismissed the Dons’ appeal on the red card.
Then added insult to injury by adding an additional match on to what would have been a three-game ban after the panel deemed the appeal to be “frivolous”.
To the Dons’ relief that experience with the lengthy ban has not put Shinnie off a return to Scotland.
Craig Brown – a hero in football and in life
Scottish football is in mourning following the death of former Aberdeen and Scotland manager Craig Brown.
People say you should never meet your heroes as they will only let you down.
Not Craig. He was a hero to me long before I first met him because he led Scotland to Euro 96 and the 98 World Cup.
However when I got to know Craig following his appointment as Aberdeen manager he also became a hero for who he was.
I always felt happier after a chat with Craig as he was so friendly, funny and open.
Craig loved football but he also loved life and that was infectious.
Christmas 2011 was my first with my son who was only four months old.
That morning I awoke to a text message from Craig wishing me a wonderful first Christmas with Josh.
He knew my son’s name and that it was his first Christmas.
That was Craig. He not only took the time to know about your life but he also cared about it.
I remember on one occasion I called Craig while he was Dons boss for an update on squad and transfer matters.
There was no reply and Craig hadn’t got back to me by the time I went to bed at around 11pm, which was unlike him.
Craig always answered or returned a call.
I awoke to a voice message in the morning from Craig apologising for not calling earlier as had been at an evening event that had just finished.
He had called at around midnight. Craig left a 10 minute message giving squad updates and finally said ‘here’s a line for yourself’ – a news story on the Dons.
To preview Euro 2020 I called Craig for a chat about the finals, particularly opponents Croatia.
As was often the case the call lasted more than an hour – a joy with Craig’s superb stories.
He then said ‘I’ve got a bonus ball for you’ and proceeded to walk for the next few minutes to a cafe as we continued to chat on the phone.
‘Here’s an extra line for you. He played for Dinamo Zagreb’ said Craig, who handed the phone to the barista, a former Croatia youth international.
Dons close in on Liverpool defender
Aberdeen are leading the race to sign Liverpool defender Rhys Williams on loan.
The 22-year-old looks set to go out on loan from the six-time European champions and the Dons are favourites to land him.
Williams has played 19 times for the Liverpool first team, 14 of them starts.
However he has not played for Liverpool since 2021 although he was in squads as an unused substitute in the second half of last season.
The 22-year-old would be a strong addition to Barry Robson’s squad.