Aberdeen midfielder Jonny Hayes knew the Dons had landed a gem in Graeme Shinnie but has been surprised how quickly his former Caley Thistle teammate has adapted to life at Pittodrie.
The pair, who played together at Caley Thistle for three years before Hayes moved to Pittodrie in 2012, have been reunited following Shinnie’s sumner move to his hometown team.
Shinnie sparkled for the Dons during their Europa League campaign and netted his first goal for his new club in last Sunday’s 2-0 win against Kilmarnock.
It has been the smoothest of transitions for Shinnie and Hayes has been impressed by the manner in which the 24-year-old has started his new career.
He said: “He has settled in a lot quicker than anyone probably thought and looks like he’s been here five years rather than a few weeks.
“He has proved to be an even better player than most of the players realised when we knew he was coming to Aberdeen.
“In all the games this season he has been right up there with our standout players. He has been really consistent wherever he has been asked to play and you could see from his time at Inverness that he keeps improving.
“He is one of the most consistent players in the league, never mind just the Aberdeen team, and I’m delighted he’s in our side now.
“I always knew he was a good player but he has improved so much even from the time we were together at Caley Thistle.
“I remember speaking to Richie Foran near the end of last season and he was so disappointed Graeme was going.
“Richie’s not normally the affectionate type who would say something like that, so that shows how good Graeme is.”
The Dons won all three meetings against Motherwell last season but Hayes is expecting a much sterner test against Ian Baraclough’s team when they meet at Fir Park today.
He added: “It looks as though they will be a bit more resilient than they were last season, so it will be tougher.
“Most of the matches against them have been decided by the odd goal and I would expect it to be tight again. Hopefully, we can continue our good start to the season and get another three points.”