Pittodrie boss Jim Goodwin reckons there won’t be many clubs that have cashed in on young talent as much as Aberdeen this summer.
The Dons could pocket as much as £11m from the transfers of teen right-back Calvin Ramsay and midfielder Lewis Ferguson.
Goodwin insists developing and selling talent for multi-million fees is the blueprint to keep Aberdeen moving forward.
Scotland international Ferguson is set to seal a £3 million transfer to Italian club Bologna.
Aberdeen have accepted a £3m offer from the Serie A outfit and the midfielder has agreed personal terms.
It is understood there will also be achievable add-ons tied into the deal which could further benefit the Dons.
Ferguson, 22, is set to undergo a medical in Italy before joining Bologna on a five year deal.
Last month 18-year-old Ramsay joined Liverpool in a deal that could be worth up to £8m.
Aberdeen received an initial £4.5m but can also pocket a further £3.5m in performance related add-ons should Ramsay reach certain landmarks.
So far in the summer window Aberdeen have spent almost £1m in transfer fees to finance Goodwin’s squad rebuild.
Goodwin said: “We’ve done great in the transfer window, both with the ins and outs.
“There won’t be many clubs out there that will bring in the type of transfer fees we have for two young players this year alone.
“Long may that continue because that’s what keeps the club stable and keeps us going.”
Lure of Italy for departing Ferguson
Aberdeen had rejected two bids from English Championship side Millwall for Ferguson during the window, with the highest £2m.
Millwall were recently informed Ferguson’s preference was to play in Italy.
Capped four times by Scotland, Ferguson was watched by Italian clubs Cagliari and Lecce in the January window.
Hamilton will also pocket around £300,000 from the transfer to Bologna.
It is understood there was a 10% sell-on clause inserted into the deal when the Dons signed Ferguson from Hamilton in summer 2018.
A tribunal ruled in 2018 that Aberdeen had to pay just over £200,000 to the Accies for the midfielder.
Aberdeen boss Goodwin confirmed Albanian international Ylber Ramadani was signed from MTK Budapest as a replacement for Ferguson.
However the Dons boss still aims to bring in an attacking midfielder with Wolves’ Connor Ronan on his radar.
It is understood Wolves are willing to sell Ronan this summer but would look for a fee of up to £500,000.
Wigan Athletic’s Republic of Ireland international midfielder Jamie McGrath is also on Goodwin’s radar.
Developing future sellable assets
Goodwin is confident the Dons can pocket future sizeable transfer fees from rising Academy stars and new signings.
The Dons boss has so far secured six signings during an ongoing summer rebuild.
Up to four more signings could be added before the window closes.
Fees were paid to land Ramadani (£100,000) and striker Bojan Miovski, 23, (£535,000) from Hungarian club MTK Budapest.
The Reds also outlaid £300,000 to sign right-back Jayden Richardson, 21, from Nottingham Forest to replace Ramsay.
Also secured was Liam Scales, 23. on a season long loan deal from Premiership champions Celtic.
Goodwin recently confirmed he aims to make a move to secure Scales permanently during the January transfer window.
Newly-appointed captain Anthony Stewart, 29, (Wycombe Wanderers) and keeper Kelle Roos, 30, (Derby County) were both signed on frees following the expiration of their contracts.
Goodwin said: “Of the six signings we’ve brought in, I’m looking at three or four of them and thinking we can potentially continue their development.
“That they could become sellable assets in a couple of years.
“We’ve still got another couple of young players coming through at the moment.
“Connor Barron is a big, big player for us and there’s a lot of speculation about him.
“We’re a club that want to be known for that.”
Strong debuts from new signings
Four of the summer signings made competitive debuts in the 2-0 Premier Cup Sports Group A win at Peterhead.
Stewart led out the team as skipper whilst Scales, Richardson and Roos also started.
Ramadani and Miovski were both unavailable for the opening game of the season at Balmoor.
Albanian international Ramadani was the first signing of the summer rebuild having been secured on June 8 on a three year deal.
However Brexit red-tape in the process of Ramadani’s visa delayed the midfielder meeting up with the Dons until now.
Ramadani arrived in the Granite City on Sunday night and trained with the Dons for the first time on Monday.
North Macedonian international Miovski, who penned a four year contract, is set to join the Dons in the next week to 10 days.
Goodwin said: “I was really pleased with the competitive debuts of the four boys.
“Ylber has been very patient as there were a number of issues with his visa application.
“He should have been with the group in Spain but it got delayed.
“Thankfully with all the hard work of our legal team we are able to get him here.
“He will get going on Monday.
“Miovski will be probably another seven to 10 days before that one gets approved.”
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