Aberdeen are close to agreeing a deal for the transfer of Fleetwood Town winger Shayden Morris.
The 20-year-old was first linked to the Dons more than a week ago, with manager Jim Goodwin admitting the attacker was on the club’s list of potential signing targets, although at that point the Dons were “nowhere near” completing a deal.
But things are understood to have progressed, with the Reds now nearing the permanent acquisition of Morris.
The player made 26 appearances for Fleetwood last season and, although he only has a year left on his contract, it is understood the Scott Brown-bossed English League One outfit have put a six-figure price tag on the speedy prospect.
Hibs were also monitoring Morris, however, all being well, it is expected his move to Aberdeen will be completed before the weekend.
This means he could feature in the first home Premiership game of the season against St Mirren on Saturday.
Goodwin has already made nine signings this summer as part of an extensive squad overhaul, with the Dons kicking off their season last Sunday with a 2-0 loss against Celtic at Parkhead.
Before the game, Goodwin had already stated Aberdeen still had work to do in the transfer market, and he underlined this in the aftermath of the defeat in Glasgow – saying the squad needed “more quality”.
Their pursuit of Wolves’ attacking midfielder Connor Ronan goes on, and it remains unclear whether the former St Mirren loanee – who Goodwin worked with while manager of the Buddies – will get his chance to prove himself in the Premier League with the Molineux outfit this season.
Another former St Mirren midfielder, Jamie McGrath, won’t be reuniting with Goodwin at Pittodrie.
The Dons had a long-standing interest in the Irish playmaker which pre-dated Goodwin’s arrival at the club.
Aberdeen had rekindled their pursuit of the 25-year-old this summer when it became clear he could be surplus to requirements at Wigan Athletic.
However, on Wednesday, Premiership rivals Dundee United confirmed they had landed McGrath on a season-long loan deal.
On Tuesday evening, Aberdeen chairman Dave Cormack posted a cryptic message on Twitter, suggesting they had cooled their bid for a loan player due to “demands” which had not represented “good value” for the Dons:
SPFL debuts for 8 players on Sunday. @steven_gunn22 & Jim working on 2/3 more. To clarify some media we rejected a loan player who wanted to come to Aberdeen due to their club’s demands. Good players should be good value. Grunny approves so far & she’s still oot on probation. SF! https://t.co/YKKRqoLem5
— Dave Cormack (@CormackDavie) August 2, 2022
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