Gothenburg Great John McMaster believes Ylber Ramadani’s impending departure is a compliment to Aberdeen manager Barry Robson and his coaching staff.
The Dons have accepted a bid believed to be around £1.2million from Serie A side Lecce for the Albanian following weeks of speculation.
McMaster believes the midfielder has improved during his time working under boss Robson, who took from Jim Goodwin on a temporary basis in January before landing the job permanently.
Ramadani, who joined the Reds last year from MTK Budapest in a deal understood to be worth around £100,000, was a key player for Aberdeen as they finished third in the Premiership last term.
‘You can see the difference’
McMaster, who won every domestic honour with the Dons as well as the European Cup Winners’ Cup and European Super Cup, is disappointed to see Ramadani leave, but believes it’s a good deal for all parties.
He said: “You see the interest in Ramadani and you have to give a lot of credit to Barry Robson and the coaching staff.
“I think in their time working with Ramadani they’ve improved him, as they have all the players in the squad.
“Players getting noticed playing for Aberdeen is a compliment for the club and for the manager and his coaches.
“They’ve improved the players and looking at a lot of the guys that were there you can see the difference since Barry got the job.
“Ramadani’s got the attributes you want in a midfielder: he goes box-to-box, he breaks things up and he can pass a ball.
“As much as they wouldn’t want to lose Ramadani, Aberdeen is ultimately a selling club.
“His departure will be an opportunity for somebody else whether it’s a young player that the club have brought through or a replacement that they manage to bring in.
“With the money that’s being quoted it’s good business by Aberdeen because they’re getting a big return on their outlay.
“The management team deserve credit because they’ve helped improve the player, but the chairman Dave Cormack also deserves credit.
“He’s backed the club and allowed Aberdeen to be in a position to sign players like Ramadani, Duk and Bojan Miovski, who cost money to sign.
“But if you can sell them on for a good return then it makes a big difference to how the club operates.”
Dons look to build on amazing transformation
Aberdeen start their season against Livingston at the Tony Macaroni Arena on Saturday and McMaster hopes the feel-good factor created in the second half of last term continues.
The 68-year-old, who will be attending the Aboyne Highland Games on Saturday to promote his autobiography McMaster and Commander: The Business of Winning, added: “Aberdeen are in a good place at the moment.
“It’s amazing the transformation that’s taken place this year.
“The guaranteed group stage European football is a great thing for everyone to look forward to.
“If you look back to January they were potential relegation fodder and now there’s a European campaign to look forward to.
“Being around the city at the end of last season the place was absolutely buzzing, fans were walking about with smiles on their faces.”
