Aberdeen will land one of Tranmere Rovers’ key players if they can complete a deal to bring Josh Dacres-Cogley to Pittodrie.
That’s the view of Paul Harper, co-host of podcast This Is Tranmere.
Attacking wing-back Dacres-Cogley is out of contract at the end of the season and the Dons are poised to make their move to bring the 26-year-old to the Scottish Premiership when the transfer window opens next month.
Harper is not surprised to see Aberdeen boss Jim Goodwin show an interest in the Rovers defender.
Harper said: “All in all, he is probably one of our most key players.
“He has been an excellent find. I knew very little about him before he joined, but he’s been really impressive and one of the brightest sparks in our past season and a half.
“He’s quick, very direct and loves going forward, but can defend as well, using his pace to get out of trouble if he’s caught out of position.
“He’s one of our best attacking options, which seems strange to say about a full-back, but him getting forward and putting crosses into the box is a great source of chances for us, and he gets himself into the box, too, when he can.”
Dacres-Cogley a standout performer for Rovers this season
Dacres-Cogley has been a shining light in what has been a tough campaign so far for the English League Two outfit.
Former Dundee United boss Micky Mellon is in his second spell in charge at Prenton Park and Harper insists Dacres-Cogley’s qualities have been hard to miss.
He said: “Overall it has been tough over the past year or so.
“Micky Mellon and the club have assembled a young squad and that inexperience has probably shown on several occasions.
“There is a lot of promise there, but performances have been up and down, as you’d probably expect from young players learning their trade to be honest.
“Dacres-Cogley I’d say has been one of the most consistently good performers in our squad over the past year or two and I think has shown he can play at a higher level than League Two.”
Rovers boss giving little away as defender’s contract counts down
Aberdeen have been tracking the Rovers right-back since the summer, but Mellon has done little to encourage a bid from the Dons for his prized full-back.
Harper said: “Mellon tends to keep these things close to his chest and doesn’t air transfer or contract information until the ink is dry.
“But with his contract coming towards an end, it would be inevitable that something might be going on one way or another.
“Micky is under pressure as the expectation is high at Rovers. We’ve not won as many games as we’d have liked and with that builds pressure.
“I’m not sure that (him being in charge) will have a great effect on whether the club want to keep Dacres-Cogley or not. I think they would want to keep him given his age and ability, regardless of who the manager was.”
‘Dacres-Cogley would do well in Scotland’
Whether Aberdeen can succeed in a bid to bring Dacres-Cogley north will soon become clear.
Harper would prefer to see the former Birmingham City defender remain at the club, but has no doubt he would be a fine addition to the Dons defence if he does head north.
He said: “Obviously I hope he stays here as I rate him highly and would like him to play a big part in our plans going forward.
“However, as a fan of a lower division club, you do have to recognise that if players do well, they tend to move on and I do believe he has the ability to play higher.
“I’m sure he’d do well up in Scotland if it was to happen, but – for our sake – I hope he stays to help us climb the table and hopefully to a promotion back to League One, which might give us more leverage to keep him longer.”
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