With his contract at Abderdeen expiring in the summer, Graeme Shinnie appears a man on the move having accumulated an impressive CV during his four-year stay at Pittodrie, winning a place in the Scottish national team and building a reputation as one of the most dependable players in the Premiership outside the Old Firm.
The Dons are desperate to keep hold of the 27-year-old, who can operate as a full-back and in midfield, but with just three months remaining on his deal and with interest both within Scotland and south of the border, Shinnie has displayed few signs of wanting to extend his time at the club.
Reports over the weekend indicated that, despite interest from Rangers, Bristol City, Championship sides Sheffield United and Derby County are battling for Shinnie.
We asked Neil Cameron, Football Editor of the The Herald, to provide some insight into Shinnie.
For those who don't follow Scottish football closely, what makes Shinnie such a good player?
Shinnie is the real 100 per cent guy. No frills, no nonsense off the park, just gets on with it. He likes a tackle, has an impressive number of yellow cards, and is one of the better players outside of the Old Firm.
What is his best position?
He’s a good deep lying central midfielder, left footed, who is a good for a goal now and then. He is also clever.
He started as a left-back, won the Scottish Cup with Inverness there, but is miles better in the centre of the park.
What's he like as a person and what sort of influence does he have in the dressing room?
He’s a nice guy, intelligent, well spoken, and a real leader at Aberdeen. He is honest, such as when he admitted he was rubbish against Kazakhstan in the recent Euro 2020 qualifier saying, “I’ll never play for Scotland again."
He’s an Aberdeen lad and has never really wanted to move away. But at 27, he wants to get that big cash move. He is well worth a gamble.
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Does he have any weaknesses to his game?
For such a nice bloke, he gets an awful lot of bookings [51 yellow cards since signing for Aberdeen in January 2015]. Nothing wrong with liking a tackle but his timing is not always great. He isn’t one to walk away from a fight.
What do you think will happen to him this summer?
He should move. Aberdeen can spend more these days but the best he’ll get is five grand a week up there.
I think he will go. There is strong interest from Rangers and up here that would be controversial; Aberdeen and Rangers hate one another. My gut is he’ll move south but I have been wrong before.
