Vicente Besuijen has left the door open for a return to Aberdeen in the summer.
The talented attacker insisted he never wanted to leave the Dons in the first place and even revealed he’d still have been at Pittodrie had Jim Goodwin been sacked earlier. Goodwin was dismissed after the 6-0 thrashing at Hibs in January but by that time his loan to Excelsior was already agreed. Besuijen said: “That is the thing. The deal was already done. Aberdeen confirmed Jim had left but my deal to Excelsior was already agreed. If the manager had left earlier then I would definitely have stayed at Aberdeen.”
The 21-year-old was a big-money purchase by Aberdeen, under previous Stephen Glass, from ADO Den Haag in January last year. The Dutch youth cap made an immediate impact with his driving runs and exciting, attacking play. He quickly established himself as a firm favourite with the Red Army. Goodwin then replaced Glass.
Besuijen was pretty much a regular in his teams until after the winter break, which Aberdeen went into in third place. When they returned he found himself on the fringes, even though the team was struggling badly for results and sliding down the league.
Besuijen stated: “I never wanted to leave Aberdeen in the first place. “Jim and I, it was a strange situation. I started the season very well, scoring goals and providing assists.
“I was a big influence on the team but then all of a sudden I was left on the bench. Jim couldn’t even give me a reason why he had put me on the bench.
“For me, I had to look at things. “With the quality I have I need to play. As long as the manager was there I had the feeling I wasn’t going to play.”
The former Roma youngster chapped on Goodwin’s door to find out why he was left out but never really got a satisfactory answer. Besuijen explained: “I went to see Jim a couple of times and asked the reason why I wasn’t playing. He couldn’t give me a reason and after a couple of weeks he started to give me reasons but in that time you can find reasons.
“He could maybe say I am not myself because I haven’t been playing or you are not at the top of your game. I just don’t think Jim had a legitimate reason to leave me out and his communication wasn’t that good, but he has gone out now.”
Social media was rife in his final few weeks that his relationship with Goodwin had broken down. Besuijen, however, insisted he gave absolutely everything every time he pulled on an Aberdeen shirt. Besuijen candidly admitted: “Everything that went on before and during the transfer window, it was mentally tough for me. I remember at the time thinking everything was okay but looking back it wasn’t that easy for me.
“I always look at myself as a player. The facts are I always give my all. When I came off the bench and the match I came on against St Johnstone, when I provided the assist for Duk. Jim gave me 10 minutes in that game but every time I played for Aberdeen I gave my all so that wasn’t an issue.”
Besuijen’s main focus just now is getting fit and over the hamstring injury that he suffered in only his second game for Excelsior. He is back in Scotland just now but travelled south to see his specialist to make sure his rehabilitation is on track.
Besuijen hopes to be back playing at Excelsior before the end of the season. The Rotterdam club has an option to buy the player. Besuijen admitted that his long-term future is on the back burner for the next couple of months and by that time he should also know who Aberdeen’s new manager will be. That will be another thing that has to come into the equation when it comes to where Besuijen plays next season.
The Colombian-born star admitted: “We are all waiting to see what will happen at Aberdeen (with regards the manager. Even for me, I would love to know the plans going forward.
“We haven’t spoken about the summer yet. We will talk about these things in a few weeks, maybe in April. “In the summer, anything can happen.”
You do get a sense from Besuijen that he has a sense of unfinished business at Aberdeen. He said: “I love Aberdeen. I came here because it is a big club with great people at the club and a brilliant support. I have only good things to say about my time at Aberdeen.
“Since I have been back in Aberdeen the fans have been brilliant to me, asking about my injury and asking me to stay. The supporters have been brilliant to me. I have always had a great relationship with them and I really appreciate the support they give me.
“We have to see what happens in the summer. As I have said, I like Aberdeen and I feel I am in a good place but we will see what happens over the next couple of months or so.”
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