Kennedy will bring new skills to Dons, says Stark

ST JOHNSTONE: Winger has signed pre-contract with Pittodrie outfit

Former Don Billy Stark believes Matty Kennedy can offer the new dimension Derek McInnes is looking for at Pittodrie.

The St Johnstone winger has agreed to join Aberdeen this summer when his deal in Perth expires and last night put pen to paper on a pre-contract agreement.

However, the Dons have not given up hope of bringing Kennedy in before the transfer window closes on January 31 and are open to a player-exchange deal with Saints in the hope of concluding an immediate deal for the former Scotland youth international.

Scotland under-19 coach Stark, who returned to his role at the national youth team in 2018 after previously occupying the position from 2009 to 2012, worked with Kennedy at under-19 level prior to the player switching his allegiance to Northern Ireland last year.

He believes Kennedy will offer different qualities to the players McInnes currently has at his disposal.

Stark said: “Matthew is a very talented boy. He is the type of winger that likes to come inside and go and link up with the striker. He is not the sort of player who looks to beat the defender, go down the line and get crosses in regularly.

“He is an old-fashioned dribbler though and those sort of players are in demand.

“I lost track of him for a while after he moved to Tranmere but he was certainly on the radar of Scotland at the youth levels and he was well thought of.

“I can see why Derek would see him being a player who can do a job for Aberdeen. He has Niall McGinn, Connor McLennan and Ryan Hedges who can play out wide but Matthew is a different sort of player to what he has.

“He will provide service from the wide areas and Derek likes that.

“He has had McGinn and Jonny Hayes do that for years and more recently Gary Mackay-Steven, who while a little quicker than Matthew, is a similar type. He’s a bag of tricks and that dribbling element makes him a tricky opponent.”

Kennedy has scored five goals in 21 games for struggling Saints this season but Stark believes the 25 year-old is capable of scoring more.

He said: “The one area he needs to improve on his goalscoring ratio. The modern example is Liverpool’s wide players. Sadio Mane and Mo Salah play wide for their team but they are recognised goalscorers for their club.

“His first responsibility will be to supply the ball to Sam Cosgrove but Matthew is capable of improving his goals return.”

Picture: SNS. Matty Kennedy: signed a pre-contract agreement with Dons.