Aberdeen boss Jim Goodwin has confirmed he will make a decision on who captains the team in the coming days.
Keeper Joe Lewis has held the captaincy recently, however, he also faces a fight for the No.1 spot.
Dutch keeper Kelle Roos (Derby County) has been signed on a two-year deal to bring competition to Lewis.
Goodwin insists he has a lot of leaders in the Dons squad.
He is set to have a discussion with ‘the individual involved’ over the club captaincy.
However, Goodwin also confirmed whoever gets the skipper’s armband will depend on how pre-season ‘pans-out’.
The Dons boss is currently taking the squad through their paces at a week-long training camp in Spain.
Aberdeen kick-start the new season with a Premier Sports Cup tie at Peterhead on Sunday, July 10.
Asked if he has made a decision on the captain, Goodwin said: “We have a very strong group now with a lot of big characters in it.
“Obviously Joe has been club captain now for a number of years.
“We will just have to wait and see how the pre-season pans out.
“Probably in the next week I will sit down and have that conversation with the individual involved.
“But it is not set in stone at the moment and we have a lot of competition for him.”
Lewis faces battle for No.1 shirt
Lewis was appointed Aberdeen skipper when Graeme Shinnie moved to Derby County in summer 2019.
Last season he was given the role of club captain, looking after matters away from the pitch.
Veteran Scott Brown took over the captaincy on the pitch.
However, Brown, now boss at Fleetwood Town, left Pittodrie in March when his contract was terminated as he wanted to concentrate on his managerial career.
Following Brown’s exit, Lewis again took the captain’s armband on the pitch.
But Lewis faces a battle to start games this season as keeper Roos has vowed to fight to be Aberdeen’s first-choice goalkeeper.
Aberdeen secured just six clean sheets in 47 games in all competitions last season.
Should Goodwin opt to appoint a new skipper, potential candidates could be Ross McCrorie, David Bates and Jonny Hayes.
Scotland squad member McCrorie, 24, is highly respected and is on a long-term contract until summer 2026.
Within a week of Goodwin’s appointment as Aberdeen manager, versatile defender McCrorie penned a two-year extension.
Scotland cap Bates is also expected to be a regular first team starter in the new campaign.
Centre-back Bates, 25, is contracted to the Dons until summer 2024.
Veteran Jonny Hayes is in his second spell at the club and is also highly respected within Pittodrie.
‘You want 11 captains out there’
Scotland international Lewis Ferguson would also be an obvious candidate for the captaincy.
However, Ferguson, 22, could potentially move on this summer as a number of clubs are tracking him.
There is serious interest from Italian Serie A clubs in Ferguson and Aberdeen recently rejected £1.5 million and £2m bids from Millwall for the midfielder.
Goodwin said: “ I have a lot of guys who are used to being captain at their previous clubs as well.
“It gives me a lot of leaders on the park.
“I know it’s an old cliché, but you want to have 11 captains out there.
“The armband is an honour as a position where you are leading the boys out the tunnel.
“We will see what happens.”