Aberdeen could land a £4million summer transfer windfall to help bankroll boss Jimmy Thelin’s bid to bring glory back to Pittodrie.
Bologna are reportedly braced for transfer interest in Lewis Ferguson in the summer transfer window – and it could see the Dons cash in.
Scotland international midfielder Ferguson has been a huge hit in Italy’s Serie A since moving from Aberdeen to Bologna in a £3m transfer in 2022.
Italian giants AC Milan, Inter Milan and Juventus are all credited with an interest in Ferguson, and are reportedly eyeing up a move for the 25-year-old in the summer.
Bologna value Ferguson at £25m
Bologna reportedly value their captain Ferguson, who was also on the radar of Napoli, at €30million (£25m).
Ferguson signed a new contract in November, tying him to Bologna until summer 2028.
Any successful transfer for Ferguson in the summer would deliver a mammoth £4m boost to the Dons.
Aberdeen very shrewdly inserted a 20% sell-on clause when selling him to Bologna.
A sell-on fee is usually only relevant to any profit on a player.
So if Ferguson is sold for £25m, the 20% sell on would be on the fee minus the £3m Bologna paid to Aberdeen, so £22m – and a sell-on windfall for the Reds of £4.4m.
The hefty sell-on clause was a masterstroke from the Pittodrie board as Ferguson was a class act at Pittodrie and clearly had the potential to shine in Italy.
Best midfielder in Serie A last season
Last season he landed the prestigious Bulgarelli Number 8 Award, given to the best midfielder in Serie A over a campaign.
Ferguson was on the radar of a host of top European clubs, including English Premier League outfits, for a potential summer swoop last summer.
However, any move was scuppered by the knee cruciate ligament injury suffered by Ferguson which ended his campaign prematurely.
The knee injury also denied Ferguson the opportunity to play in the Euros with Scotland last summer.
Now back to full fitness and key to Bologna’s challenge for Champions League qualification, the transfer could happen this summer.
AC Milan director Zlatan Ibrahimovic is a big admirer of Ferguson.
The midfielder’s former Bologna manager Thiago Motta, who brought Ferguson to Italy, is also now boss of Juventus.
Bidding war would be ideal for Dons
The ideal scenario for Aberdeen would be if a bidding war breaks out for Ferguson in the summer – with the fee rocketing beyond Bologna’s £25m valuation.
Such is the concern Ferguson may exit in the summer, reports in Italy say Bologna boss Vincenzo Italiano is looking at a potential replacement – Monza’s Matteo Pessina.
Ferguson’s value could yet ramp up even higher before the transfer window opens.
With the former Don driving them on as skipper, Bologna have racked up six wins from their last seven Serie A games to move up to fourth in the table.
They are closing in on qualifying for the Champions League for the second successive season.
Ferguson could also lift a trophy as Bologna captain, as the club aim to and a 51-year wait for major silverware since the 1974 Coppa Italia.
Bologna face Empoli in this term’s Coppa Italia semi-final on Tuesday, April 1.
Up for grabs is a spot in the final against the winners of the derby clash between AC Milan and Inter Milan.
Ferguson’s value could ramp up
Ferguson is the perfect embodiment of Aberdeen’s player trading model.
That model is signing an exciting young player and developing him to a level where a major impact can be made in the first-team for a number of seasons, before the player leaves for a major fee – with a sell-on clause.
During his four years at Aberdeen, Ferguson was a fantastic player for the club.
And he could be the player who keeps on giving if he is transferred out of Bologna.
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