Aberdeen manager Derek McInnes spoke of his delight at beating Hibs to the signature of Ross McCrorie and then set his sights on more transfer business to solve his striking crisis.
The Dons agreed a year-long loan for McCrorie and will then buy him permanently from Rangers for £350,000 next summer.
Aberdeen beat Hibs to the punch to land the 22-year-old, who has penned a Pittodrie contract until 2024.
McInnes revealed McCrorie is on a long-term contract and now he wants a short-term striking fix after injuries to Sam Cosgrove, Ryan Edmondson and Curtis Main, while Bruce Anderson is still unavailable.
The Aberdeen manager admitted: “I’ve spoken to a lot of people who have worked with him before and a lot of our lads know him from the international setup and a lot of my staff have been involved with him at the U21’s and always spoke highly of him as a boy.
“I think you can see it, I don’t know him as well as I am going to know him.
“I think I know what he is and what he brings is real stature, a young Scottish talent, 22 years of age coming to us in a four year deal.
“We couldn’t have been more pleased with that signing.
“The priorities remain elsewhere on the pitch because we are struggling with a number nine due to the injuries we’ve had.
“We will continue to try to get one that will fit the bill for us in the short-term, but, certainly, after speaking to the chairman everyone saw the merit of getting Ross, for the long-term planning.
“He’s a young, Scottish player with real value and we feel we can help him develop, find a home here and fulfil his potential.”
McInnes admitted the only way they were able to sign McCrorie was to loan him and then to delay payment until next year. The Dons also beat Hibs to the signing of Funso Ojo last summer after former boss Paul Heckingbottom thought he had landed him.
McInnes, speaking on RedTV, explained: “He is the type of signing we should be doing at this club, a young Scottish talent and somebody that I have admired for a couple of seasons.
“Every transfer window that came up I was always keen to see exactly where he was in the pecking order there.
“Obviously he had a loan spell at Portsmouth last season and when the opportunity came - obviously we’re restricted what we can do in terms of spending a fee - but when the opportunity came any fee could be delayed till next season we were delighted to try at least have that chance to bring him here.
“Once we got the opportunity and permission to speak to him I couldn’t be more impressed with the boy.”
