Aberdeen manager Derek McInnes believes James Wilson can reinvent himself as Ryan Christie’s successor at Pittodrie.
The former Manchester United striker has returned to Pittodrie on a two-year deal and having ended last season in a different role out wide for the Dons McInnes believes a new role in the team will bring the best out of his summer recruit.
He said: “He’s got lovely dancing feet – a bit Christie-like – and has that lovely left foot. I think if he gets it right he could do something similar to Christie for us.
“I think he enjoyed the role that we gave him towards the end of last season. It was a role that I thought he could do before I actually put him into the team.
“I think sometimes the robustness of our league – James with his back to goal facing two big centre-halves – is not perfect for him. But James playing off the right-hand side can make him more influential for us. He got a couple of assists against Hearts, and he could have scored a hat-trick against Celtic.
“Some of his performances were excellent and then he scored the winning goal at Easter Road on the last day of the season. So I think that he enjoyed the role.
Wilson finished last season with a flourish but his season at Pittodrie was an inconsistent one.
However, McInnes believes the 23-year-old’s contentment at the Dons can help him get the best out of the player.
He said: “He is a real technician. But to get the best out of such a player, you need real confidence there, and you need the player to be fit and feeling a part of something.
“For James, coming here rather than going elsewhere for more money was 100% the right thing. He has made a big decision and he has made the right decision about his career.
“Both James and his agent have acknowledged that, rather than going into a different environment, he has come back to an environment that he knows already and that, I think, will help him.
“He’s a nice boy and there is no ego or flashiness considering where he has come from and what he has been earning.
“We want him to be really relevant for us this season and I think he is capable of doing that.
“If he is happy and smiling then it means he is doing well and if we can get him as fit as we can then he will be a real asset.”
Aberdeen manager Derek McInnes believes James Wilson can reinvent himself as Ryan Christie’s successor at Pittodrie.
The former Manchester United striker, pictured below, has returned to Pittodrie on a two-year deal and having ended last season in a different role out wide for the Dons McInnes believes a new role in the team will bring the best out of his summer recruit.
He said: “He’s got lovely dancing feet – a bit Christie-like – and has that lovely left foot. I think if he gets it right he could do something similar to Christie for us.
“I think he enjoyed the role that we gave him towards the end of last season. It was a role that I thought he could do before I actually put him into the team.
“I think sometimes the robustness of our league – James with his back to goal facing two big centre-halves – is not perfect for him. But James playing off the right-hand side can make him more influential for us. He got a couple of assists against Hearts, and he could have scored a hat-trick against Celtic.
“Some of his performances were excellent and then he scored the winning goal at Easter Road on the last day of the season. So I think that he enjoyed the role.
Wilson finished last season with a flourish but his season at Pittodrie was an inconsistent one.
However, McInnes believes the 23-year-old’s contentment at the Dons can help him get the best out of the player.
He said: “He is a real technician. But to get the best out of such a player, you need real confidence there, and you need the player to be fit and feeling a part of something.
“For James, coming here rather than going elsewhere for more money was 100% the right thing. He has made a big decision and he has made the right decision about his career.
“Both James and his agent have acknowledged that, rather than going into a different environment, he has come back to an environment that he knows already and that, I think, will help him.
“He’s a nice boy and there is no ego or flashiness considering where he has come from and what he has been earning.
“We want him to be really relevant for us this season and I think he is capable of doing that.
“If he is happy and smiling then it means he is doing well and if we can get him as fit as we can then he will be a real asset.”