There’s a sense of deja vu from last season as the English transfer window draws to a close and Aberdeen’s Scott McKenna is the subject of transfer speculation.
Last term, it was Aston Villa who came in with a £6.5 million bid, although that offer came on the final day of the Scottish window – August 31 – and was for an initial loan before a permanent deal in January.
Earlier last summer, Celtic moved to sign him as well.
The English summer window for permanent moves ends on August 8 and there will likely be more offers for the centre-back in the next week and a half.
Queens Park Rangers and Nottingham Forest both floated around £3 million over the weekend and were knocked back.
There are a few factors which Aberdeen chiefs will consider before deciding if any bid is worth taking a closer look at.
They’re in control of the situation, as McKenna has four years left on his Pittodrie contract.
In that regard, the Dons have been smart with the way they’ve recognised the appeal of their star defender, who is now also a Scotland mainstay.
They’ll also be weighing Scott’s feelings in any decision. Where’s his mind at about moving on?
The opinions he has made public in the past have all suggested he knows he’s got a lot of years ahead of him and is quite happy to continue learning the game in the Scottish Premiership under McInnes and his staff.
On top of this, the bid has got to be right.
It’s been discussed in the past the club are looking for an amount as high as £10m.
Two bids of £3m were unlikely to test their resolve if they’ve turned down much more previously.
They’ve got to maximise the money they can bring in for McKenna, not only to fuel the footballing operation, but also to go to other areas like funding part of the new stadium at Kingsford.
The Dons youth development model is aimed firstly at getting value on the park from the talent they’ve brought through and they’ll also want to make sure they get the right value off the park.
Furthermore, and this factor will intensify as we move closer to the end of the Scottish transfer window, the timing is crucial.
The Villa cash last season – even if it had come to Pittodrie on August 31 – wouldn’t have been much use to replace McKenna as there was no time to get the right player or players in, although I’m sure the manager had a plan B.
McInnes has often stated he feels his star man will move on eventually, but it’ll be to the Premier League.
Maybe Scott believes this too and wouldn’t be keen on a move to somewhere like QPR or Forest.
One potential side effect of speculation around McKenna’s future is it can disrupt the Dons during their quest to qualify for the Europa League. However, I think Scott and his team-mates are well used to this kind of thing and the man himself is strong enough to not let it affect him.
That’ll be key in the next wee while.
McKenna and Andy Considine look like they’ll be Aberdeen’s only fit centre-backs for at least a couple of weeks after Ash Taylor hurt his hamstring putting in a needless challenge during the first leg against Chikhura Sachkhere in Tbilisi.
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