NEW DONS DEAL IS COSGROVE’S REWARD
ABERDEEN striker Sam Cosgrove last night capped his spectacular revival at the club when he extended his Pittodrie deal by two years. The Englishman initially found goals hard to come by when he joined Derek McInnes’ side in a £25,000 move from Carlisle this time last year. But he has emerged as a key man for the Dons this season, and is currently their top scorer with nine goals. That tally includes seven goals in the last eight games which has helped the team climb to fourth in the Premiership table after a stuttering start to the campaign. Cosgrove, 22, said he was delighted to get his future sorted with a new deal that ties him to the club until the summer of 2022 — and assured fans they have still to see the best of him. ‘To be honest, as soon as the offer came through, it was never a matter of if I was going to sign, it was just about getting things done as soon as possible,’ said the 6ft 3in forward. ‘And while it’s great to have security for my future, I see it as an incentive to push on and to show what more I’ve got to come. ‘We didn’t have the start to the season that we would have hoped for but the run we’ve been on for the past month especially has put us in a great position going into the second half of the season.’ Born in North Yorkshire but brought up in Lancashire, Cosgrove came through the Everton youth academy before joining Wigan Athletic. After his release from the DW Stadium following a number of loan spells, he moved to Carlisle in August 2017. The tall young striker caught the eye of McInnes, who lured him north to the Granite City, but he was sent off on his debut for Aberdeen in a 2-0 defeat to Celtic on February 25. He returned to the team for the final four fixtures of last season, helping the Dons secure second place in the Premiership. But it’s the remarkable transformation in his form this season that has helped earn him his new deal.