Gothenburg Great Neale Cooper insists Aberdeen will have an outstanding allrounder on their hands if the Dons can lure Peterborough captain Jack Baldwin to Pittodrie.
The defender, who has emerged as a transfer target for Dons boss Derek McInnes along with his Posh team-mate Chris Forrester after being named among 13 players transfer-listed by manager Steve Evans.
Baldwin established himself at Hartlepool United under Cooper in his breakthrough season in 2011-12 before moving on to Peterborough United on the final day of the January transfer window in 2014.
His former manager Cooper hailed the then 18-year-old as a young Alan Hansen after his meteoric rise at Victoria Park and would love to see the defender at Aberdeen.
He said: “I was surprised to hear Aberdeen were after him as he’ll command a substantial fee in Scottish football terms but if the Dons do get him in they will be getting a smashing player.
“He reads the game so well, likes to get the ball down and play, and has a good range of passing. He’s the sort of player Derek McInnes likes and would fit in well at Pittodrie.
“He had no issues in swapping Kent for Hartlepool and I’m sure moving from Peterborough to Scotland wouldn’t faze him, either.
“The Premier League and the Championship is high profile and League 1 and 2 tend to go unnoticed but there are a lot of good players operating in those leagues and Jack is one of them.”
It is standard policy at Posh for players in the final year of their contracts to be placed on the transfer list and Cooper believes the Dons will have a quality addition if they can attract the Peterborough club captain north.
He said: “Jack, for a young boy, did very well for me at Hartlepool.
“Hartlepool United had a scout in Kent who had been keeping tabs on him for a while and he recommended the club make a move for him. It turned out to be a great decision.
“He was a teenager when he broke into the side and had just made his debut at 18 under the caretaker manager when I arrived. He was still only a young boy then but I could see he had the makings of being an excellent player. He was an outstanding allrounder and he was so composed on the ball. We knew we had a lad with huge potential on our books.
“He was great for me and I was not surprised to see him move on for £500,000 to Peterborough. The fact he has gone on to be named captain there at 24 tells you everything.”