Aberdeen defender Scott McKenna has withdrawn his transfer request at the club – but the defender has not given up on his dream of playing in England.
The central defender was the subject of £3 million bids from Queens Park Rangers and Nottingham Forest in the summer and has also been linked with a move to Celtic in the last 18 months and put in a transfer request on the eve of the club’s Europa League tie against HNK Rijeka in the summer in the hope of forcing through a move before the EFL transfer window closed.
His request was rejected and McKenna remains at Pittodrie. He insists he will continue to give his all to the Dons but the 23 year-old remains hopeful of earning the opportunity to play in England.
When asked if his request still stands, McKenna said: “No. That was in a few months ago, but as soon as the window closed, my attention was back on Aberdeen. I just need to keep my head down and see what happens come January.
“When you have been working for the full year, building up to that point that you thought was going to be the time, there was that wee bit of disappointment. But it can’t linger for too long.
“The window closed. We were in Croatia and we had a game an hour or two later. There was no time for me to dwell on things.
“As frustrating as it can be, there is absolutely nothing I can do about it, apart from try to play well.”
With the window due to open again in January McKenna can bolster his hopes of earning a move if he impresses for club and country in the next six weeks.
The defender, who is with the Scotland squad ahead of the Euro 2020 qualifiers against Cyprus and Kazakhstan, said: “As soon as every window closes, the next six months is always big.
“The closer you get to the window, all you hear is people saying ‘you need to play well the next five or six games. Your future could depend on it’. You become used to it.
“I’ve heard it so many times now. I just want to do as well as I can in every single game I play in, whether that’s for Scotland or Aberdeen.
“Hopefully Aberdeen will win games. We are out of the League Cup, but we want to finish as high up the table as we can.
“For Scotland, it’s about trying to qualify. I know we can’t do it through these two games, but hopefully I can stay in the squad and the team for March.”