Junior and jonny might stay at dons
JUNIOR HOILETT and Jonny Hayes could have the option to stay at Aberdeen beyond the summer.
The pair are both out of contract next month.
But Hoilett was a major player in Aberdeen’s endof-season revival after Neil Warnock signed the winger.
And interim boss Peter Leven has told incoming gaffer Jimmy Thelin he should keep the Canada international at Pittodrie.
Director of football Steven Gunn has been in talks with the Swede over out-of-contract players.
Hoilett turns 34 in two weeks and there remains the possibility he could be offered another year’s deal.
Hayes is also out of contract and is wanted for a coaching role at Celtic. If he hangs up his boots, the Dons would also offer him a job within their academy.
Midfielder Connor Barron is another who is out of contract and it looks likely he will move on.
Bologna, Cagliari and Sassuolo are among Italian clubs keen on him while there is firm interest from Swansea and Coventry.
Aberdeen would be entitled to around £500,000 in compensation.
Keeper Kelle Roos is likely to move on and excaptain Anthony Stewart, who has been on loan at MK Dons, will depart.
Stefan Gartenmann and Killian Phillips’ loans are up and they are likely to return to Midtjylland and Crystal Palace. It comes
after the Dons finished best of the rest, although skipper Graeme Shinnie insists it is not something they are “amazingly proud about”.
First-team coach Leven set them on a nine-game unbeaten league run that saw them finish seventh.
Shinnie said: “I am delighted to see it over the line and finish seventh. We are not amazingly proud about it but, from where we have been, our aim was to finish best of the rest.
“To do that from where we were gives us some momentum going into next season.
“We maybe hit form at the wrong time but when we went into the split we weren’t a million miles away from the bottom.
“It is easy for me to say that now. If we had found that form earlier in the season, we don’t know what would have happened.
“But that is down to ourselves for not being good enough for large parts of the season.”
Elfsborg boss Thelin will take the reins and Shinnie added: “There is a new era coming in next season. It comes with real optimism.”