The Courier & Advertiser (Perth and Perthshire Edition)

McLean must stay with Dons, says Calderwood

Former boss hopes key midfielder sees his future at Pittodrie

- Ross alexander

Securing the future of midfielder Kenny McLean should be a top priority for the Dons, according to former Aberdeen manager Jimmy Calderwood.

The 25-year-old signed a three-and-ahalf year deal when he joined Aberdeen from St Mirren in February 2015 in a deal worth £175,000.

McLean has become a mainstay in Derek McInnes’s team having featured in 108 consecutiv­e games for the Dons – starting in all but four of them.

But the player has entered the final year of his contract and will be free to talk to other clubs in January.

Rangers, who released McLean as a youngster, had a bid rejected for the midfielder during the summer transfer window and Light Blues manager Pedro Caixinha remains keen to bring McLean to Ibrox.

But ex-Dunfermlin­e boss Calderwood, who has revealed he is living with early-onset alzheimer’s disease, hopes the Dons can hang on to McLean, who won his first cap for Scotland in a 1-0 away win against Czech Republic in March 2016.

He said: “He is a fantastic player. I’m sure Derek will be trying to keep him at the club. Aberdeen have signed a lot of good players over the last few years and he is certainly one of them.

“Sometimes a player can want a change and there is very little a club can do. But Aberdeen is a great club.

“I think Kenny would be good enough to go play in Europe somewhere.

“He is such a technical player and that style of football could suit his game.

“But if he wants to go somewhere else in Scotland then there aren’t many clubs bigger than Aberdeen. They are going to have him for at least one more season and then it will be down to Kenny.

“I’m sure Aberdeen will try to keep him. It won’t be easy for him to leave the club unless he already has something lined up. He has been a very good Aberdeen player.”

The Dons, meanwhile, will be hoping that the exertions from last night’s Champions League match with Paris Saint-Germain will tell on Celtic when they host Ross County this weekend.

Derek McInnes’ side, who are level on points with the Hoops after five games, take on Kilmarnock at Pittodrie.

Calderwood added: “Aberdeen will hope that Celtic are vulnerable after these big Champions League games and might drop points but I’m not sure how often that will happen.”

 ?? Picture: SNS. ?? Kenny McLean is an Aberdeen mainstay but has entered the final year of his contract with the Dons.
Picture: SNS. Kenny McLean is an Aberdeen mainstay but has entered the final year of his contract with the Dons.

Newspapers in English

Newspapers from United Kingdom