The Scotsman

Kennedy set to remain at Pittodrie despite January interest

- By JOEL SKED

Aberdeen winger Matty Kennedy is set to stay at Pittodrie and be part of Stephen Glass’ plans for the second half of the season.

The 27-year-old has yet to play this season due to a back injury with his last outing a brief substitute appearance in a 2-1 win at Livingston in May.

Having failed to shine last campaign, it appeared he could be on the way out of Pittodrie in the summer with St Mirren keen on a loan deal for the Northern Ireland internatio­nal. Due to an ongoing back complaint, however, the deal didn't happen.

The club were able to get to the bottom of the issue with a scan revealing a small bone break in his spine which, bar two appearance­s on the substitute­s’ bench in the Europa Conference League qualifiers, has kept him out so far this season. Kennedy is now fully fit and has impressed the coaching staff in training.

The attacker will be treated like a new signing and, despite interest from clubs, The Scotsman understand­s he will remain at Aberdeen for the second half of the campaign where he will add competitio­n in the final third.

Since moving from St Johnstone in January 2020, the Dons fans have only seen his quality in flashes. Kennedy has scored twice in 47 appearance­s having hit 12 in 62 matches for the Perth Saints.

The player was at his best for St Johnstone playing on the left or as a central attacking midfielder. Due to a change in formation under Derek Mcinnes, he found himself playing as a wing-back at times.

Kennedy isn’t the only player who could be like a new signing for Glass, with Mikey Devlin back training after a small plate in his foot had to be removed after seeing a specialist last month.

The defender, who has three caps for Scotland, hasn’t played since December 2020 due to injury and is on a shortterm deal at Pittodrie until the end of January, but has shown encouragin­g signs and is highly thought of by the management team.

Meanwhile, Andy Considine is on course to return to action in March. The Scotland internatio­nal suffered a serious ACL knee injury against Qarabag in European qualificat­ion back in August.

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