New Aberdeen signing Topi Keskinen looked very impressive on his debut following his £860,000 transfer from HJK Helsinki.
The winger was pitched in just days after arriving from the Finnish top-flight team and made an immediate impact by scoring a dramatic late winner in the Premier Sports Cup last-16 tie against Queen’s Park.
Keskinen was keen to take defenders on and get into the box – which is exactly what you want from an attacking player.
Netting on his debut will give the Finn a huge boost after arriving at Pittodrie for a large transfer fee.
Signing a winger was required by manager Jimmy Thelin, as the Reds were a little bit short in the wide areas of the pitch.
Aberdeen tended to be reliant on the full-backs ,which isn’t a problem.
Unfortunately against Queen’s Park full-backs Jack MacKenzie and Nicky Devlin both missed scoring opportunities.
Securing an attacking player with the quality of Keskinen gives Thelin more options because there is a big gap to fill following the transfer of striker Bojan Miovski to Girona.
Cup action all about progression as Dons also get dream quarter-final draw
It is good that the goals are being spread among the team this season with Miovski having moved to the Spanish top-flight.
Keskinen’s scoring debut is another positive in a dream start to the season under new manager Thelin.
It was not a great performance by Aberdeen against Championship Queen’s Park and a bit of a slog at times.
However, the most important aspect in any cup game is to get into the next round.
I played in cup ties myself with Aberdeen when we struggled to be at our best and reach the next round – and we went on to eventually win the trophy.
It is all about progressing and the Dons achieved that.
Thelin’s side also couldn’t have asked for a better outcome in the quarter-final draw when landing League Two Spartans at Pittodrie.
The Dons are just one win against lower-league Spartans away from a semi-final trip to Hampden in the Premier Sports Cup.
Aberdeen are building real momentum, having won seven out of seven games in all competitions so far this campaign.
That has to be caveated slightly with the fact the Dons have played five lower league clubs in the Premier Sports Cup during that winning run, of course.
However, I am not trying to take anything away from Thelin and his team – it has been the best possible start the new manager could have wished for.
Reinvesting Miovski fee this summer
Everything is very rosy at Pittodrie at the moment which is a great to see.
However, I still believe there should be more signings secured by Aberdeen before the summer transfer window shuts.
The club has funds following the club record sale of Miovski to Girona.
The Dons’ trading policy is all well and good, but there has got to be a turnover of cash.
You can’t expect the supporters to turn out in force for the first Premiership game of the season and not give them something back from the Miovski transfer.
I would expect to see some more signings come in before the summer window shuts.
And I also anticipate signings being secured in January, which is always the most difficult window.
I think the club will further invest in the squad to strengthen.
There must now be a real feel-good factor at the moment, which is great after a turbulent few seasons.
In recent years, too many managers have come in and then exited.
Aberdeen don’t want to be in that situation again, and, in Thelin, they have an experienced manager with a good track record who has hit the ground running.
The Dons board must support him by reinvesting some, not all, of the funds from the Miovski transfer.
Aberdeen’s hierarchy need to show the fans that although Miovski has gone, his legacy will be a stronger squad.
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