Manager Lewis MacKinnon believes new signing Aaron Nicolson can flourish with Buckie Thistle.
The 19-year-old striker has joined the Breedon Highland League champions on a contract until the summer of 2027.
Nicolson came through the youth ranks at Inverness Caledonian Thistle and is a former Scotland schoolboy international.
After leaving Caley Thistle he signed for Nairn County in the summer of 2023 and netted eight goals for the Wee County last term, including a hat-trick in their North of Scotland Cup final triumph against Ross County.
Nicolson ended up leaving in the summer to move to Edinburgh to attend university. He signed for Lowland League club Linlithgow Rose, but scored five times in a loan spell with Strathspey Thistle at the start of this term.
Jags are Nicolson’s choice
However, Nicolson is now returning to Inverness and Buckie boss MacKinnon has won the race for his signature.
He said: “When Aaron played against us for Strathspey earlier this season I liked what I saw.
“He scored twice, but beyond that he held the ball up really well and linked the play.
“Although we won quite comfortably on the night (8-2) I felt Strathspey played some good stuff and Aaron was crucial to that.
“He held the ball up and brought others into play and showed he was good at that side of the game.
“But he also scores goals, last season he scored a good few goals for Nairn including a hat-trick in the North of Scotland Cup final.
“I think Aaron is a good young striker who will do very well for us.
“This isn’t a gamble, Aaron is a good player who has already shown what he can do in the Highland League.
“But I also think he can still get even better. As a team we create a lot of chances and I think he’ll enjoy playing for us.
“We’ve got good players in our team who will play the ball into his feet so I think he can flourish at Buckie and score a lot of goals for us.
“He’s had good experience in the Lowland League with Linlithgow Rose this season which will have helped Aaron as well.
“We’re bringing in a good young player with a lot of potential.”
Buckie have got their man
MacKinnon has been keen to bolster his striking options for some time, but reckons his patience has paid off with the signing of Nicolson.
He added: “It’s no secret we’ve been looking to add another striker and that goes back to when Kyle MacLeod left last season.
“We’ve got Josh Peters and Liam Harvey, who’s another young striker with a lot of potential, but we needed more competition and another number nine alongside them.
“We have forward players like Marcus Goodall, Lyall Keir, Jack MacIver and Andrew MacAskill, but they’re not number nines.
“We’ve looked at a few options, but it needed to be someone we felt was good enough to be a starter for us.
“That’s why it has taken longer to get the player in, but we’ve got him now in Aaron.”
Meanwhile, Wednesday’s Morrison Motors (Turriff) Aberdeenshire Shield quarter-final between Keith and Fraserburgh was postponed due to Kynoch Park being waterlogged.
The tie will now be played in January.
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