Willie Miller has revealed his surprise at the paucity of fee Aberdeen have accepted for top scorer Sam Cosgrove.
The striker blasted 23 goals in 37 games for Derek McInnes ' men as he cemented his reputation as one of Scotland's deadliest strikers.
Ambitious French second tier side Guingamp has a £2m fee accepted by the Dons board at the weekend but the striker didn't fancy uprooting his life without more time to consider his options and rejected the offer.
Miller feels this development is good news for the club but wondered if a marker has been put down that means the player is now likely to move on.
Writing in the Evening Express, he stated : "It’s great news for Aberdeen that Sam Cosgrove rejected a move to France.
"However, the Dons accepting a bid from Guingamp for the striker puts down a marker to other clubs of the fee they may be able to sign Cosgrove for.
"For the moment the positive thing is he’s staying put at Pittodrie and not joining the Ligue 2 side."
And Miller looks to the huge fee the club rejected from Aston Villa for Scott McKenna two seasons ago as evidence of his concerns.
He said: "I was surprised that Aberdeen accepted a bid of around £2 million for the 23-year-old, particularly when they turned down £6.5m from Aston Villa for Scott McKenna two years ago.
"From the player’s perspective it’s understandable why he turned down the move given he would have been moving to a new country and a new culture.
"With the McKenna situation, because it was transfer deadline day, the Dons felt they would be unable to get a replacement in so they rebuffed the bid.
"Although I’m surprised the offer from Guingamp for Cosgrove was accepted, it’s good news for the Reds if they are able to start the season with their talismanic striker.
"I can fully understand the financial situation Aberdeen are in and the need to bring in some cash because of the black hole they are facing.
"However, the supporters have heard Dave Cormack say that players won’t be sold on the cheap, so to see a bid of around £2m being accepted for Cosgrove sends a strange message.
"Times have changed since Aston Villa’s attempt to sign McKenna when they knocked back £6.5m, but to now be prepared to accept about a third of that for their main striker tells its own story about the Reds’ financial situation and the need to balance the books."
