A tale as old as time has resurfaced at Aberdeen as success on the pitch has been stirring speculation.
Jimmy Thelin’s flawless start as Dons boss has been as surprising as it has been impressive.
Hopes were high the Swede would make an impact at Pittodrie – but nobody saw 13 straight wins coming.
Pittodrie is packed out as fans cannot get enough of Thelin’s Dons.
Demand for away tickets is also exceeding supply as the support travel en masse to cheer on their side, who face the biggest test to date on Saturday when they travel to Glasgow to face Premiership champions Celtic in a top-of-the-table clash.
Life is pretty good if you are an Aberdeen fan right now, but Thelin’s incredible start in Scottish football is bringing the sort of attention which is enough to give any member of the Red Army nightmares.
English Premier League club Wolverhampton Wanderers have become the first club to be linked with the Dons boss as they ponder a list of potential replacements for under-pressure boss Gary O’Neil.
Wolves are bottom of the division with one point from their opening seven matches.
Their next challenge is the biggest of all as champions Manchester City visit Molineux on Sunday.
But following the game against Pep Guardiola’s side comes a more favourable run against Brighton, Crystal Palace and Southampton before the next international break in November.
It’s an opportunity for O’Neil to haul his side up the table and improve his own prospects but if there is no change then the Wolves boss knows what lies ahead.
So, too, could the Aberdeen fans.
Thelin has been loyal to his clubs
It’s all speculation at this stage of course, but should Wolves, or any other club in England’s top-flight for that matter, come calling then it will be a big test for the Dons.
Aberdeen managers in recent years have struggled to last 12 months in charge due to the team’s struggles on the pitch.
The sting of losing one who has got the Dons going well at the top of the table would be a really sore one to take.
Thelin is ambitious and like every player and manager in the game wants to test himself at the highest level.
But he is also loyal. He turned down the Dons earlier this year as he didn’t want to leave his club Elfsborg on the eve of the new season.
It was only after his club sourced a replacement before the mid-season break that he eventually moved to Scotland.
Having begun a three-year plan to revitalise Aberdeen, you get the impression he will be keen to honour that commitment.
Aberdeen’s impressive start is not going unnoticed
It’s not just the manager who is attracting interest given Aberdeen’s impressive start to the season.
We’ve already seen coaches being on the radar of other clubs this season with Peter Leven having turned down both Raith Rovers and St Johnstone to stay at Pittodrie.
Now Jack MacKenzie has reportedly got not one, not two, but three English Championship clubs in Preston, Sheffield United and Stoke City keeping tabs on him.
MacKenzie is the local boy done good at Pittodrie and his rise from the youth academy to the Scotland squad has been a gradual one.
But there’s no doubting MacKenzie’s qualities.
He has been something of a late bloomer at Pittodrie, having made his debut in March 2021 just a few weeks before his 21st birthday.
The Dons have some protection with their manager given he is under contract.
MacKenzie’s future is more pressing as he is out of contract at the end of the season and free to sign a pre-contract with another club in January.
Having got the left back’s defensive team-mate Nicky Devlin signed up on a new deal on Friday, getting MacKenzie to follow suit will be a top priority in the weeks ahead for Aberdeen.
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