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Analysis: Ryan Hedges is the key cog in the Aberdeen machine

Ryan Hedges has become a key performer for Aberdeen
Ryan Hedges has become a key performer for Aberdeen

It is only when someone is not there that you realise how important they are.

Aberdeen are 12 game into their season and have one clean sheet to show for their efforts, the 2-0 win on the opening day of the Premiership campaign against Dundee United at Pittodrie.

The early signs were very positive for Stephen Glass and his players with the Dons controlling games and scoring goals with ease.

It meant those conceded goals were largely rendered meaningless and to be fair to the Dons they have drawn a blank only three times in those opening dozen games.

The Aberdeen manager was juggling European and domestic commitments and his team selection was made with those Conference League Thursday nights in mind.

He got away with several changes thanks to an injury-time mistake from Livingston goalkeeper Max Stryjek on August 8 in the league.

But was not so lucky when he rolled the dice again at Raith Rovers in the Premier Sports Cup a week later as Jay Emmanuel-Thomas’ opening goal counted for nothing as the Championship side scored two second-half goals to end Aberdeen’s interest in the League Cup.

But with European football now at an end for another year the focus is firmly on Aberdeen’s league business between now and 2022.

The loss of Andy Considine until the turn of the year leaves Aberdeen still searching for the right defensive balance and of the 14 goals conceded, eight have been lost when Considine has not featured.

But it is the goals for column where the absence of another player has been telling.

Ryan Hedges has not featured since suffering a hamstring tear after taking to the field to help rescue his club from their cup fate in Kirkcaldy.

Ryan Hedges left the field in crutches at Raith Rovers.

His last appearance was a costly one with his 19 minutes at Stark’s Park starting a six-game winless run and it is apparent how great Hedges’ influence on the team in the final third is.

We knew this from last season when his shoulder injury the day after the January transfer window closed left the Dons lacking in any creativity.

As the goals dried up so too did Derek McInnes’ time at Pittodrie and the parting of the ways between manager and club followed soon after following a run of one win in nine matches.

It’s ridiculous to suggest Glass faces a similar fate. He’s only just in the job and has been trusted to lead a major overhaul of the first team squad.

But what has become clear is how Hedges has become an integral cog in the Aberdeen machine. His team has scored 13 goals in the six matches he has featured in this season, with the caveat of three coming before was on the pitch for a seven minute appearance from the bench at Breidablik.

In the six games he has not played the Dons have scored just five, and two of them came in the season opening win against Dundee United at Pittodrie.

Hedges is so much more than the two goals and one assist he has added to the cause. Fans who watch him on a regular basis know that.

Aberdeen midfielder Ryan Hedges.
Hedges is back in training with the Dons

His ability to glide away from players, run at pace and create space for his team-mates is what makes him so a priceless asset for his club.

Had he been available at Motherwell on Saturday, where the Dons had 75% possession and 20 attempts at goal, it is not expecting too much for him to have at least been involved in some of that positive play by contributing an end product whether it be a goal or an assist.

It’s those same qualities which have had clubs in England offering anything between £250,000 and £500,000 to lure him away from Pittodrie last month.

It speaks volumes of how he is viewed by his club that despite the Wales international being in the final year of his contract with the Dons they were unwilling to take the money and let him leave.

That scenario could still come to pass, especially with the player free to sign a pre-contract by the time the window opens again on January 1 and the revelation he is keeping his options open should be a cause for consternation.

In the summer of high profile arrivals such as Scott Brown, Christian Ramirez and Declan Gallagher, it remains apparent Hedges is a vital component of this team.

That is why you can expect Aberdeen, if they are not doing so already, to be hard at work in trying to come up with a financial package to convince Hedges his future lies at Pittodrie.