Boss Stephen Glass has warned English clubs the days of landing players on the cheap from Scotland are long gone.
Glass is adamant the Dons and other Scots outfits will not ‘roll over’ for low bids from south of the border.
If an English club wants to sign a player from Scotland, Glass warns they must pay the ‘going rate’.
Glass’ broadside comes as Aberdeen are braced for bids from England this month.
A host of Premier League sides are in the race to land right-back Calvin Ramsay.
Manchester United, Liverpool, Newcastle United, Leicester City, West Ham and Watford are all interested in the 18-year-old.
The race to land Ramsay has also spread across Europe.
Eintracht Frankfurt (German Bundesliga) and Bologna (Italian Serie A) are also keen on securing the teen.
Clubs have already made contact about a potential January swoop for Ramsay, who is contracted until summer 2024.
Blackburn Rovers are also set to swoop for Ryan Hedges this month.
Aberdeen rejected a bid of around £400,000 for Hedges, 26, in the summer window.
Championship Blackburn are ready to make a renewed move for Hedges.
Glass reckons Nathan Patterson’s exit from Rangers to Everton in a deal that could rise to £16m shows the value of Scottish talent.
He warned any club looking for a bargain basement signing will not get it at Pittodrie.
Glass said: “Clubs are strong up here – they are not just going to roll over.
“I think Scottish clubs know what they have with young Scottish talent.
“Over time they (English clubs) have underpaid for players up here.
“The Patterson situation shows that is changing perhaps.
“I think people know they need to pay the going rate.”
Aberdeen strong over Ferguson bid
Aberdeen showed their strength in May last year when rejecting a bid of under £2m from top-flight Watford for Lewis Ferguson.
Midfielder Ferguson, 22, is contracted to the Dons until summer 2024.
Following the rejection of that Watford bid, Ferguson slapped in a transfer request.
That request was immediately rejected by Aberdeen.
Since that Watford bid was knocked back, Ferguson has broken into the Scotland squad.
Nathan Patterson deal sets new bar
Everton smashed Rangers’ transfer record in signing Scotland international Patterson last week.
The 20-year-old was signed for £11.5m in a deal that could rise to £16m with add-ons.
Patterson had made just 14 starts for Rangers with a further 11 appearances off the bench.
Another young Scottish full-back, Aberdeen’s Ramsay, has started 15 games with a further seven off the bench.
Patterson was contracted to Rangers until summer 2024, the same length of time Ramsay is tied to the Dons.
English clubs are set to increasingly look towards Scotland for young talent.
That is primarily due to two factors, Brexit and the success of recent players who have moved south from the Premiership.
Brexit has made it harder for English clubs to get playing permits for overseas players.
That is unless they are young talents with first team experience and potentially international experience.
Those players in Europe are at a premium and hugely expensive.
Scots shining in English top flight
The success of players like Andy Robertson, John McGinn and Kieran Tierney in the English top flight has also made clubs view it as less of a gamble to go for Scottish players.
McGinn moved from Hibs to Aston Villa in 2018 and was pivotal in their promotion to the Premier League in his first season.
A regular starter in the top flight, McGinn has been linked with a potential £50m summer move to Liverpool or Manchester United.
Fellow Scotland international Kieran Tierney transferred from Celtic to Arsenal in a £25m deal in summer 2019.
Tierney won the FA Cup in his first full season.
The remarkable rise of Robertson
Liverpool left-back Andy Robertson played for Dundee United and Queens Park.
Scotland captain Robertson completed a £2.85m from Tannadice to then Premier League Hull City in summer 2014.
Three years later. Robertson was snapped up for £8m by Liverpool.
Robertson has gone on to win the Champions League, FIFA Club World Cup, UEFA Super League and Premier League with Liverpool.
Glass said: “Some of the players that have gone south from various clubs have shown their value as well, which is important.
“There’s a lot of them in the league down there that have come through the divisions in Scotland and proven their worth.
“It is less of a gamble than it might have appeared about five, 10 years ago when there was a little spell when it stopped happening.”