Graeme Shinnie has returned north to finalise his move to Aberdeen.
The midfielder is back in the Granite City to sign a three year deal at Pittodrie. The 31-year-old will also take up the armband after thrashing out his exit from Wigan Athletic. Shinnie will now lead Barry Robson’s squad back for their pre-season training return on Wednesday. It is a major boost for the Dons manager as he was desperate to seal Shinnie’s return for a third time.
He had previously played with him and then when he stepped in as interim boss last season he immediately handed him the captain’s armband - even though he was only on loan from Wigan Athletic. Robson is still actively looking to strengthen his squad. Liverpool defender Rhys Williams is due in the Granite City this week for talks over a possible loan deal. The 22-year-old is a former teammate of Dons new boy Leighton Clarkson.
Williams has options south of the border but the chance to play in the Premiership with added European group stage football could well swing it. The England under-21 cap has previously had loans at Kidderminster Harriers and Swansea City.
Robson is desperate to strengthen his defence after he lost Mattie Pollock and Liam Scales back to Watford and Celtic, respectively, after their successful loan spells. The Dons had made an offer to Dutchman Jay Idzes but ran out of patience on that deal and pulled the plug.
Aberdeen’s summer signings Clarkson, Nicky Devlin and striker Ester Sokler will be amongst the new faces when the Dons return. There will also be a few familiar old faces. Midfielder Vicente Besuijen and former captain Anthony Stewart are both scheduled to return with the first-team squad.
Dutchman Besuijen went on loan to Excelsior last season but his loan was wrecked by injury, Besuijen had previously said he wouldn’t have left Pittodrie if he knew Jim Goodwin wasn’t going to remain as manager. Ex-skipper Stewart will also be back in the ranks but his future looks more uncertain.
When Robson stepped into the Pittodrie hot seat, one of the first things he did was tell Stewart that he was no longer part of his plans. That opened the door for a late loan move to MK Dons. That move didn’t go to plan either as they were relegated and are now under new management. That meant they decided not to make Stewart’s move a more permanent one.
It is likely that the Dons will let Stewart go if interest materialises.
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