Aberdeen boss Barry Robson is set to “mix and match” players in the first friendly of pre-season to prevent overloading his squad.
The Dons will ramp up preparations for the new campaign when facing Highland League Turriff United away on Wednesday (7.45pm).
It will be the first opportunity for Aberdeen supporters to see the Reds’ new signings in action.
Robson has secured six players during a summer transfer window rebuild – with more set to come.
Two of the signings are already well known to Aberdeen supporters: Graeme Shinnie and Leighton Clarkson. Both were on loan last season, with Shinnie having previously been at Pittodrie between 2015 and 2019.
Shinnie signed a three-year contract following his exit from Wigan Athletic, while Clarkson penned a four-year deal from Liverpool.
However, four new signings are in contention to make their Aberdeen debuts against Turriff.
Slovenian striker Ester Sokler, right-back Nicky Devlin, on-loan Liverpool defender Rhys Williams and keeper Ross Doohan could all make their Dons bows at The Haughs.
Robson said: “We will mix and match players and give them some time on the pitch.
“We don’t want to overload them at the minute.
“These are good games to break us in.
“After Turriff United and Fraserburgh (Saturday), we have a couple of tough games away in Charlton (Saturday, July 29) and Preston (Saturday, July 22) which will be real tests before we go into the season.”
The new signings set for Aberdeen debuts
Striker Sokler was signed in a £300,000 deal until summer 2026 from Slovenian top-flight club NK Radomlje.
The Dons beat off competition from clubs in Belgium, Austria and Slovenia to land the 24-year-old former U21 Slovenian international.
Right-back Devlin, 29, signed on a two-year deal following the expiration of his contract with Livingston.
Centre-back Williams, 22, was secured on a season-long loan deal from Premier League Liverpool.
Williams has played 19 times for the Anfield club, including 14 starts and has Uefa Champions League experience.
Keeper Doohan jetted out to the Dons training camp in Portugal last week to complete a transfer from Forest Green Rovers on a two-year deal.
Down to work for Ross Doohan 🇵🇹 pic.twitter.com/oFbrGrAQMp
— Aberdeen FC (@AberdeenFC) July 8, 2023
Aberdeen pushing for Teklic deal
Aberdeen are still working on adding more new signings, with Croatian midfielder Tonio Teklic a target.
Teklic’s club Varazdin are reluctant to part with the 23-year-old and have tabled a new contract offer.
The midfielder is contracted to Varazdin for another year.
There is understood to be a further complication with a sell-on clause with Teklic’s former club Hajduk Split.
Teklic continued his recent impressive form by scoring in the 2-1 friendly defeat of Kecskemeti at the weekend.
Pre-season preparations ramp up
Robson recently praised how quickly his new signings have gelled into the Aberdeen squad during pre-season training.
That integration will now step up with the friendlies.
He said: “These games are there to focus on some of the things we have worked on.
“As much as we train and coach, you also need to start getting the actual game situation into them.
“We are looking forward to the games. which will be difficult.
“They are matches where we can start to prepare and get ourselves ready.”
Robson: High level of fitness is fundamental to any team’s prospects of success
Robson put his squad through their paces in the 30-degree heat at a training camp in Portugal last week.
The Dons flew back to the Granite City at the weekend.
Robson is determined to match the Dons’ quality with a high level of fitness in the new campaign.
He said: “Fitness is a discipline thing and I know how hard I worked at it in my career.
“I was lucky enough to play at a really high standard against some of the best players in the world.
“People ask me what was the difference?
“It always came down to the speed and fitness of players.
“To give yourself every chance, you need to be as fit as you can be.
“You need to be at your best to perform.
“If you haven’t got a fit team, you will struggle all the time.
“If you have a really fit team, you should always be ready for the fight and to perform to your best.
“I always want players like that. Who are ready to work and fight.
“The other side, the technical side, we go into real depth with that.
“But as long as I have a team out there that wants to run and win, that gives us a good start.”