Dons KO Gers bid for Kenny
DEREK McINNES insists Kenny McLean is going nowhere after Aberdeen booted out a £300,000 bid from Rangers.
The Light Blues slapped in an offer for the Scotland midfielder despite getting little encouragement after making an initial enquiry.
But McInnes insists he’s only interested in players coming into Pittodrie after Greg Stewart yesterday arrived on a season-long loan from Birmingham.
The Dons are also still in for Shaun Maloney, despite Hull offering him a new deal, German defender Berkay Dabanli has arrived at Pittodrie on trial and McLean won’t be following Ryan Jack to Ibrox despite having just a year left on his Reds contract.
McInnes said: “A bid was made for Kenny but it was rejected as we had already said it would be.
“Kenny is relaxed about it, he’s under contract here
and he’s more than comfortable with that. We are looking forward to the season with Kenny in our team.
“No more players will be leaving here this summer, I’ve been given assurances about that. We don’t need to sell and we’re not going to sell.
“We feel enough have left recently so we are trying to bring people in now.”
McInnes welcomed Stewart to the north-east yesterday and, like fellow summer signing Greg Tansey, is a player he tried and failed to get last season.
The Dons wanted the 27-year-old before he moved to St Andrews after a prolific spell at Dundee but McInnes finally got his man and hopes he can recapture his Dark Blues form after a miserable year in the Midlands.
McInnes said: “Greg had a difficult time at Birmingham, he had three managers last season so that couldn’t have been easy for him.
“But he’s come to a place now where he can concentrate on just being himself, playing football. We’re delighted to get him.
“When he played against us he was always someone I felt we had to be careful of. He brought a lot of quality to Dundee, with his assists and his goals, and that’s something we will need.
“We need goals from other areas of the pitch as well as from Adam Rooney in the middle.
“Like Greg Tansey, I don’t always get players when I want them but I get them in the end. We are working on one or two other things and hopefully we’ll get one or two other targets in shortly.”
McInnes will assess centre-half Dabanli in training with the player available on a free after leaving German third-tier side Chemnitzer.
He added: “He’s here for the week. It was on the recommendation of an agent who’s been quite good in the past.”
McInnes faced the media for the first time since rejecting the chance to join Sunderland two weeks ago with concerns over a possible Black Cats takeover believed to be a factor.
The 45-year-old admitted the size of the Wearsiders club meant he had to listen to what chief executive Martin Bain, who he knew from his time at Rangers, had to say.
But after making his decision, McInnes is looking to build on last season.
He said: “Things have come up in the past which you quickly move on from but Sunderland, the size of the club and the potential there, was always something you’d want to look at closely.
“Once the clubs met the valuation I was keen to ascertain a few things and get a handle on it.
“There were loads of attractions about the club but weighing everything up I decided Aberdeen is where I wanted to be.
“Was the ownership issue a factor? I don’t want to get into the ins and outs of it. I took my time, I thought long and hard about it.
“There was real transparency when speaking to them but after putting everything together a decision had to be made and in the end I decided to stay with Aberdeen.
“I’ve always said it would be a huge wrench to leave this club, there is a lot to be said for being happy at your work.
“You weigh up everything, the targets we have set and the players we are trying to get in. And there are also commitments you have made to the players here.
“Above all, I believe we can be as strong again this coming season as we’ve been the last few years.
“I feel the motivation and determination from the squad and with new players coming in and more to follow we’re optimistic.”