Glass delight as Dons sign Gallagher on pre-contract

Aberdeenhaveannouncedthe signing of Motherwell defender Declan Gallagher on a twoyear deal.

The Scotland international will move to Pittodrie this summer when his contract expires at the Lanarkshire side.

He becomes the club’s second summer recruit after Celtic captain Scott Brown agreed to join the Dons as player-coach.

Aberdeen manager Stephen Glass welcomed the Gallagher signing as he looks to mould the first-team squad in his own image after taking over from long-term boss Derek Mcinnes last month.

Glass told the club’s website: “We are delighted to be able to add someone of Declan’s quality to the first team.

“He is one of the country’s top centre-backs and played a prominent role in Scotland’s qualification for the Euros this summer.

“Declan was highly sought after and we beat off stiff competition to get him here, but it’s really encouraging to see he believes Aberdeen is the correct place for the next stage of his career and we are eagerly looking forward to working with him when he arrives in the summer.”

Gallagher has been a Motherwell player for the last two seasons after signing a precontract deal in April 2019 following a successful spell with Livingston.

The 30-year-old defender spent the best part of five years with the West Lothian club, though he was imprisoned for over a year after being found guilty of assault which took place during his time with Dundee.

His impressive form at Fir Park earned him a Scotland call-up in October 2019. He has since made seven appearances for Steve Clarke’s side and could yet feature at this summer’s European Championship.

Aberdeen’s capture of Gallagher came after chairman Dave Cormack had told supporters that signings were imminent.

Speaking earlier this week at a Q&A on the club's Youtube channel, Cormack said: "Bringing in Stephen Glass, Allan (Russell) and Scott Brown in the summer, it was important that we give them a period of time to get to know the existing squad.

"They've only had a couple weeks of training with the guys.

"What I would say is we outlined, I think it was May of 2019, a clear strategy for the club. Any business needs a strategy, whether it's on or off the field.

"Clearly there are a number of players out of contract in the summer.

"Stephen, I'm sure, is going to wait until the end of the season to see what he wants to do. But we have also had a number of sessions since I've been back where we've talked about potential targets.

"I think you'll see in the coming days and weeks some announcements that Stephen Glass and his team will make on players coming in for next season."