Aberdeen will bid to sign on-loan Celtic defender Liam Scales on a permanent deal in the January transfer window.
Dons boss Jim Goodwin confirmed the Dons will make a further attempt to secure the defender on a permanent contract in the next window if Scales impresses as expected.
Scales, 23, is currently on a season-long loan from the Premiership champions.
Goodwin confirmed the Dons attempted to secure Scales on a permanent deal this summer.
Aberdeen pushed the Parkhead club on “what the number was” to get a deal over the line for Scales.
However Celtic are not willing to sell the defender, contracted until summer 2025, at this moment.
Aberdeen boss Goodwin will revisit that in January in a bid to make Scales a permanent Red.
At the Dons’ training camp in Spain, Goodwin said: “The size of club we are, we want to be signing players on permanent contracts.
“That conversation was had with Celtic initially.
“We wanted to know what the number was and could we make it happen.
“Celtic are not willing to sell Liam right at this moment in time.
“That is fair enough because he is their player and he is on a long-term contract.
“Certainly we will enter into those discussions again in January if Liam has the kind of success we expect him to have.
“Hopefully he is enjoying his time at Aberdeen and will want to sign on with us.”
Goodwin a fan of the loan market
Left-sided centre-back Scales signed for Celtic last summer in a £500,000 switch from Shamrock Rovers.
Goodwin had tried to sign him permanently a season earlier whilst manager of St Mirren.
Scales made 13 appearances for the Parkhead club last season.
He will be unavailable to face parent club Celtic in the Dons’ opening game of the Premiership season due to the terms of his loan deal.
Celtic left-back Adam Montgomery was brought in on a six-month loan in January by former Aberdeen boss Stephen Glass.
Goodwin said: “I’m a big fan of the loan market as it gives you the opportunity to sign players that you would maybe not normally be able to afford.
“We need to use the loan market as we see fit then we will do that.”
Attractive move as big clubs are monitoring Aberdeen
Meanwhile new signing Bojan Miovski is set to undergo his medical at the Dons’ base in Spain.
The North Macedonian international striker, 23, has signed a four-year deal in a £535,000 transfer from Hungarian club MTK Budapest.
Miovski will train with the Reds in Spain but will not travel back to Scotland with the squad.
That is because the striker’s visa application is still being processed.
Aberdeen beat competition from clubs in Hungary, Poland, Belgium, Russia and Switzerland to sign Miovski.
Goodwin reckons Aberdeen’s reputation for developing young players was a major draw.
He insists Miovski was also well aware Dons players have been on the radar of huge clubs recently.
Teenage right-back Calvin Ramsay recently completed a five-year move to Premier League Liverpool.
The transfer could be worth up to £8 million for the Dons.
Aberdeen secured an initial £4.5m and potential additional £3.5m in add-ons should Ramsay reach certain landmarks at Anfield.
Asked why Aberdeen won the battle to sign Miovski, Goodwin said: “I think the fact that we have a track record of developing players at that age and level.
“And of giving them the opportunity to flourish.
“His representatives and Bojan also recognised there are a lot of big, big teams coming to watch Aberdeen off the back of Ramsay.
“There have been teams from all over Europe at Pittodrie over the last couple of seasons watching a number of our players.
“There have been plenty of our players linked with moves.”
Summer transfer window rebuild
Miovski is one of six signings in an extensive summer transfer rebuild to overhaul a squad that finished a lowly 10th in the Premiership last season.
There are more signings to come.
Transfer fees were also paid for midfielder Ylber Ramadani (£100,000, MTK Budapest) and right-back Jayden Richardson (£300,000, Nottingham Forest).
As well as the loan deal for Scales the Reds also secured centre-back Anthony Stewart (Wycombe Wanderers) and keeper Kelle Roos (Derby County) on free deals.
How Miovski fits into the Dons team
Goodwin believes his blueprint for the Dons going forward also attracted Miovski.
He says director of football Steven Gunn also gave a compelling pitch to convince the striker to snub interest from other clubs across Europe in favour of the Reds.
Goodwin said: “I told him how we want to play and how I see him fitting into that.
“I think all of that counted along with video conversations we had with Bojan.
“We showed him the infrastructure and Steven Gunn the director of football sold him and his representatives a great pitch on the call.
“I think he saw the facilities, Pittodrie, the fanbase, the ambition of the club and also the talk about the new stadium.
“I just think Bojan wanted to be part of something like that
“It all added up into what he thought would be a good move and a good opportunity.
“We are getting a really exciting player in Bojan.”
Conversation