Goalkeeper Theo Simpson is moving loan clubs, from Buckie Thistle to Forfar Athletic, initially until January. Forfar’s only senior goalkeeper, Marc McCallum, is out with a long-term injury. Currently, 18-year-old Neil Stafford, on loan from Hamilton Academical, is deputising, with youth team goalkeeper Conlin McKeever on the bench. Forfar’s signing statement says that Simpson has been signed “to bring some competition and assistance for Neil Stafford.”

All our young players play tomorrow, with Yengi hoping to make his re-debut in Japan on Sunday.

The quarter-finals of the Aberdeenshire Cup were completed on Tuesday, and Aberdeen were drawn against Fraserburgh in the semi-finals, with the date to be confirmed. The next fixture for the Emerging Talent Squad is next Tuesday, against Ross County in the KDM Evolution Trophy league stage. On paper, this will be the toughest test for the young team so far this season.

A full fixture list this weekend, starting on Friday night in the Championship when Dunfermline Athletic defeated Raith Rovers 1-0. Dylan Lobban played the full game.

Moving on to Saturday, and Inverness Caledonian Thistle lost 3-1 at Stenhousemuir. Alfie Stewart and Alfie Bavidge both started the game. Stewart played the full game and picked up a yellow card in the 70th minute. Alfie Bavidge played 79 minutes, and received a yellow card in the 76th minute.

In League One, Cove Rangers lost 1-0 at Hamilton Academical. Jamie Mercer and Joseph Teasdale both played the full game.

Peterhead drew 1-1 at Alloa Athletic. Zak To started the game and played 71 minutes. Jack Searle started on the bench and came on in the 71st minute. Lewis Carrol was an unused substitute.

In League Two, Elgin City defeated Stirling Albion 4-0. Aaron Cummings and Sam McLean both started on the bench, and both came on in the 80th minute.

In the Highland League, Buckie Thistle defeated Rothes 5-0. JJ Hulse started the game and played 68 minutes. Theo Simpson was an unused substitute.

Deveronvale drew 0-0 at Nairn County. James Jarvie was an unused substitute.

Formartine United won 2-1 at Forres Mechanics. Joel Okhuoya started on the bench and came on in the 29th minute.

Fraserburgh drew 2-2 with Clachnacuddin. Rodrigo Vitols played the full game.

Keith defeated Wick Academy 4-1. Max Pocklington and Heath Duncan both started the game. Pocklington played the full game, picking up a yellow card in the 60th minute. Heath Duncan played 78 minutes, scored the third goal in the 28th minute, and picked up a yellow card in the 53rd minute.

Turriff United lost 3-1 at Brora Rangers. Jay Henderson and Bradley Chikomo both started the game and played 81 and 65 minutes respectively.

In the Grill League Cup, the league cup for teams in the North of Scotland leagues, Banchory St. Ternan lost 2-0 to Culter and were eliminated from the tournament. Conlan Waldron played the full game and was awarded the home team’s Man of the Match award.

No mid-week fixtures, so we will do this all again next weekend.

Marshall’s goal takes him to two goals in two games for the “B” team. The next outing for the team is on September 8 against Ross County in the third round of KDM Evolution Trophy league stage fixtures.

On to the weekend, and Dunfermline Athletic play Raith Rovers in tonight’s live Championship game, and everyone else has a game tomorrow.

The eagle-eyed among you might notice 4 extra assists credited in the above table (two each for JJ Hulse and Max Pocklington). The raw data for Highland League games available on results sites (including the BBC, which is my usual source) seems to miss some of the assists. Thanks to a pair of pitch-side correspondents, I am able to provide a more accurate record.

Whenever someone comes into the database, I’ll make a little note on who they are, who recommended them and any interesting things I can see about them.

Goalkeepers -

Recommended by Vitamin T, Kasper Kiilerich is a 20 year old keeper who was on loan at 2nd tier Danish side Aarhus Fremad from top flight Danish side Viborg. He’s came back to Viborg this season as number 1 and has a really solid start to the season. This past weekend he was in goals (and kept a clean sheet) as Viborg beat Copenhagen 4-0, impressive!

Right Backs -

Calvin Ramsay completed his loan move to St Mirren, so it’ll be intriguing if he can stay fit all season and play well in the league again.

Recommended by Kevin Smith is Czech U21 international Filip Lissah. He’s looking to cement a first team place at the EFL Championship side, after a really strong loan last season at Scottish Premiership side Falkirk (average rating of 7.02 from 27 appearances). He played the full 90 minutes as Swansea drew 0-0 with Sheffield United.

Centre Backs -

I added John Tod as he’s a young Scottish talent worth watching, both footed centre half and looks really good on the ball. He wasn’t in the squad at all for Dunfermline’s 2-0 defeat to Livingston, not sure why.

Recommended by Vitamin T is Danish centre half Luka Callo, who was on loan at Aarhus Fremad (just like Kasper Kiilerich) from Danish top flight side AGH. He’s looking at cementing a first team place at AGH in this new season, after they won the league last season, but it’s been a bit rocky so far with him starting on the bench so far. However, at the weekend he came off the bench at half time in AGH’s 2-2 draw with OB.

Another centre half recommendation from Vitamin T was Victor Rofino, a Guinea-Bissau international playing for Portuguese 2nd tier side Leiria. He’s been at Leiria for the past 2 seasons, and with his contract up at the end of the season, he may be looking for a new challenge. Unfortunately he wasn’t in the squad at the weekend, just like John Tod, not sure why.

Last on the centre back list so far is a Japanese player I’ve seen recommended online by Japanese scouts, it’s Haruto Nakano of J2 League side Iwaki FC. He’s 19, a regular at the J2 League level and is out of contract next summer, so maybe someone to target for cheap either in January or on a pre-contract next summer. He played 74 minutes in a 4-1 loss to Oita Trinita at the weekend, with a 5.9 rating, so hopefully an improvement in the next game.

Left Backs -

Recommendation from Kevin Smith was Estonian international left back Michael Schjonning-Larsen who plays for Scottish Premiership side Kilmarnock. He already has 1 goal from 2 games so far, but had a horrible first game against St. Johnstone with a 5.1 rating and an own goal. No game in the Premiership for Kilmarnock this past weekend, so will see how he does this weekend.

Another recommendation from Vitamin T is Anders Hiim, a Norwegian left back playing in the Norwegian top flight for Sarpsborg. The Eliteserien is already over halfway through their season, he’s made 17 appearances so far with 1 goal and a 6.92 average rating.

Central Midfielders -

One of my longstanding recommendations (a player I scouted for a club I was working for a few years ago and was immensely impressed) is Slovenian international Adrian Zeljkovic. He’s currently on loan at Hungarian side MTK Budapest from Czechia side Viktoria Plzen, he’s rumoured to have a hefty option to buy at around £1.7million, but if MTK Budapest don’t take that up, he may be available for cheaper. He played the full 90 minutes as MTK Budapest won 2-1 against Nyiregyhaza at the weekend with a 6.5 average rating.

A recommendation from Willie Beattie in the central midfield area was Dundee midfielder Ethan Hamilton. Definitely one of the more impressive midfielders in the division and certainly someone to keep an eye on. He played the full 90 minutes in the Dundee Derby as Dundee beat Dundee United 2-0 with a 7.0 average rating.

Wingers -

First of the wingers to be recommended was by Kevin Smith and it’s Welsh International Cameron Congreve. He was on loan at Dundee last season from Swansea and was impressive, with 3 goals and 7 assists in 34 games, 6.79 average rating. In the summer, he completed a permanent move for just under £1million to Belgian Pro League side Westerlo. He has started 2 out of 3 of their league games so far this season, which included the weekends 4-0 defeat to Lommel.

Next, recommended by Vitamin T is Nfansu Njie, who plays for Hungarian top flight side ETO FC. He is a 21 year old Gambian winger who previously played for French side Bordeaux. He has so far played in all 4 league games this season, but one was off the bench. He started against Zalaegerszegi over the weekend as ETO won 3-0, but he only lasted 56 minutes (taken off at 1-0) with a 6.8 rating.

Another recommendation from Vitamin T is winger Bob Nii Armah, who plays for Finnish side KuPS. He looks to be very versatile, playing in a number of positions but mostly as a winger. The Finnish top flight is also over halfway through, although they’re away to split into a championship round and relegation round with KuPS top of the league. He’s made 15 appearances with 5 goals and 3 assists in the Veikkausliiga this season with a really strong 7.29 average rating. He wasn’t in the squad at the weekend, possibly rested for the Shamrock Rovers Conference League Play-off game this midweek.

Strikers -

First up, a recommendation from Vitamin T, Duje Korac who is a Croatian striker playing in Latvia for RFS. He most recently moved to RFS from Croatian side Rudes for around £100,000, after he fired Rudes to promotion to the top flight with 9 goals, 3 assists in 32 games. It’ll be interesting to see how he adapts to the Latvian top flight and if that will catapult a bigger move in the near future. He started at the weekend against Riga but was taken off in the 37th minute, I can’t tell if it was a hooking or an injury but I’m going to lean towards the latter.

Secondly, another recommendation, this time from Willie Beattie, this time it’s Scotland U21 international attacker Andy Tod (the brother of our other shortlisted Tod from Dunfermline, central defender John Tod). He currently plays for Scottish Championship side Dunfermline and so far has 1 goal in 3 games with a 6.43 average rating. He played 68 minutes in the 2-0 defeat to Livingston at the weekend with a 6.2 rating.

Last on the shortlist is a striker that’s impressed me in Austria, Pape Sissoko of SV Ried. He’s currently on loan at SV Ried from French 2nd tier side Stade de Reims, and has a option to buy, but I can’t imagine it’s that high. He’s started the season decently, with 2 goals in 4 games, but that’s with 2 starts (that lasted 60 minutes) and two sub appearances. He started at the weekend against Grazer AK and scored the winner (a penalty) in a 1-0 with a 6.7 rating.

If you want to keep up with the shortlist, please don’t hesitate to subscribe to this Substack. It’s going to be really good when Aberdeen sell a player and we already have watched many players in that position that could replace them, with huge help for the community!

On Friday night in the Championship, Inverness Caledonian Thistle drew 1-1 at home with Partick Thistle. Alfie Bavidge and Alfie Stewart both started. Bavidge played the whole game, scoring the equaliser in the 89th minute for his third goal of the season. Stewart also played the whole game, picking up a yellow card in the 41st minute.

On Saturday, Dunfermline Athletic lost 2-0 at Livingston. Dylan Lobban made his first start for Dunfermline and played the full game.

In League One, Cove Rangers defeated Peterhead 3-0. Jamie Mercer played the full game, picking up a yellow card in the 27th minute. Joseph Teasdale started the game, scoring the first goal of the game, and his first goal of the season, in the 48th minute, and was withdrawn in the first minute of second half stoppage time.

For Peterhead, Jack Searle and Zak To both played the full game. Lewis Carrol was a substitute, coming on in the 74th minute.

In League Two, Elgin City drew 3-3 at Spartans. Aaron Cummings and Sam McLean both started on the bench, with Cummings entering the game in the 74th minute and McLean remaining unused.

In the Highland League, Buckie Thistle were 6-0 winners at Invergordon. JJ Hulse provided three assists before being withdrawn in the 72nd minute. Hulse assisted the second, third and fourth goals in the 30th, 50th and 54th minute. Theo Simpson was an unused substitute.

Deveronvale drew 1-1 with Forres Mechanics, where James Jarvie was an unused substitute.

Fraserburgh won 4-0 at Lossiemouth. Rodrigo Vitols played the full game, recording his third clean sheet in four games.

Keith lost 4-1 at Formartine United. Heath Duncan and Max Pocklington both started the game. Pocklington played the full game, receiving a yellow card in the 41st minute. Duncan entered the book in the 29th minute and was withdrawn at half-time.

Turriff United lost 2-1 to Strathspey Thistle. Jay Henderson played the full game, picking up a yellow card in the second minute of second-half stoppage time. Bradley Chikomo started on the bench and came on in the 77th minute.

In the Scottish Communities Cup, Banchory St. Ternan drew 2-2 with Glentanar before losing out 5-4 on penalties. Conlan Waldron made his debut, played the full game and saved the first two spot kicks in the shoot-out.

The KDM Evolution Trophy league stage continues on Tuesday with the Emerging Talent Squad facing Fraserburgh. Rodrigo Vitols is ineligible to play for either team in that game.

Introducing, The Aberlytics Shortlist.

Every week (hopefully), I will produce a new article where we monitor players that if I was in the Aberdeen recruitment team, then I’d keep an eye on. BUT what I also want is suggestions from yourselves on players that maybe you’ve watched that would be an interesting prospect for Aberdeen. So fire through some names anywhere you can, in the comment section of this post, in the Aberlytics X DMs.

My first name for the shortlist isn’t going to be everyone’s cup of tea… but I think we need to keep a very close eye on what he does this season if he moves to the club that he’s rumoured to. The first name is Calvin Ramsay… and you’re now going to see what we will be tracking in our shortlist (it’s very basic).

I’m hoping that very soon, we’ll have built a database of players that Aberdeen should be targeting in real life.

Let’s see how we do!

Inverness Caledonian Thistle went out of the Premier Sports Cup on Sunday with a 6-2 defeat at Hearts. Alfie Bavidge and Alfie Stewart started the game, with both playing 86 minutes. Bavidge scored in the 56th minute to put ICT 2-1 ahead, with Stewart providing the assist.

In Highland League action on Tuesday night, Fraserburgh lost 2-1 at Inverurie Locos. Rodrigo Vitols played the full game, conceding his first goals of the season.

Turriff United lost 1-0 at Banks O’ Dee, where Jay Henderson played the full game and Bradley Chikomo came off the bench to play the final eight minutes.

The rest of the Emerging Talent Squad were not idle during the week, defeating Keith 1-0 in their first match in defence of the Aberdeenshire Cup. As holders, Aberdeen received a bye in the first round of the 15-team tournament, with this victory taking them into the semi-finals. The three remaining quarter-finals are due to be played on September 2.

After this weekend’s league games, the squad will reunite again next Tuesday for our second KDM Evolution Trophy league stage match against Fraserburgh, who will be without Rodrigo Vitols, who is ineligible to play for either side.

Lobban started on the bench yesterday in Dunfermline’s 2-1 defeat by Ross County in which he made his debut in the 59th minute. Cup-tied status in the Premier Sports Cup is reset after the group stage, allowing Lobban to play for two teams in the same competition.

In League One, Cove Rangers lost 3-0 at East Kilbride. Joseph Teasdale started on the bench and played the final 36 minutes. Dylan Ross was not in the matchday squad.

Peterhead defeated East Fife 2-1, where Zak To converted a 90th minute penalty to win the game. To was a first half substitute, replacing the injured Robel Tekle in the 21st minute. Jack Searle also came off the bench, in the 82nd minute, and provided the assist for the 84th minute equaliser by former Dons youth player Fraser Mackie. Lewis Carrol was an unused substitute.

In League Two, Elgin City defeated Kelty Hearts 4-1. Aaron Cummings came off the bench in the 68th minute and provided the assist for the fourth goal in the 85th minute for another former young Don, Jack MacIver, his second assist of the season. MacIver was immediately substituted, with Sam McLean making his debut.

In the Highland League, Buckie Thistle won 2-1 at Turriff United. JJ Hulse started the game and played 77 minutes, picking up a yellow card in the 69th minute. Theo Simpson was an unused substitute.

And for the losing side, Jay Henderson played the full game and Bradley Chikomo came off the bench in the 74th minute.

Deveronvale were 3-0 winners against Rothes. James Jarvie was an unused substitute.

Fraserburgh defeated Nairn County 2-0, with Rodrigo Vitols playing the full game, recording his second successive clean sheet.

Keith drew 1-1 at Clachnacuddin. Max Pocklington and Heath Duncan both started the game, and for the second game in a row combined to score with Pocklington assisting Duncan’s 68th minute equaliser. Pocklington played the full game, while Duncan, who was booked after 60 minutes, played 73 minutes.

In the North of Scotland Championship, Conlan Waldron was an unused substitute as Banchory St. Ternan won 3-0 at Whitehills.

Coming up on Tuesday, Aberdeen play Keith in the quarter-final of the Aberdeenshire Cup, which will likely prevent our loanees taking part in the round of Highland League fixtures on Wednesday. Aberdeen, of course, are seeking to retain the trophy.

The U21 squad was boosted by two of the three permitted over-age players in Nicky Devlin and Ayoub Mouloua. An opener from Cooper Masson and two penalties from Mouloua saw the Dons pick up three points.

We can see clear progress from the young Dons team which lost 2-1 to the same opposition in the same tournament last season, and with our favourable draw with two Highland League teams in our six league stage games, qualification for the knockout stage looks very possible. It could be a good season for the “B” teams, with five victories in the opening round of matches, compared to seven in the entire league stage last season.

In other U21 player news, Kjartan Már Kjartansson joined Brann yesterday, so he drops off the U21 player tracker.

And moving back to loan watch. Everyone plays tomorrow, with the exception of Inverness Caledonian Thistle, whose League Cup game against Hearts takes place on Sunday. Hopefully the Alfies will be joining the senior Dons in the draw for the next round.

Enjoy the weekend.

Goalkeepers -

Marius Muller
Dimitar Mitov
Nick Suman

Number 1 is Marius Muller and there’s been talk of Dimitar Mitov leaving in this window, with clubs circling from Germany, Austria, Denmark and Cyprus. I assume Mitov will eventually leave in this window which will leave us with 2 senior goalkeepers Muller and Suman, maybe with the possibility to bring in another, or we run with Muller and Suman, with Vitols (recalled from his loan) as backup for an injury, or even a free agent signing like Bratveit from last season.

Right Backs -

Chris Cadden
Dylan Lobban
Nicky Devlin

Chris Cadden was brought in a week or so ago and has started the last 2 matches, even with the limited time on the training pitch with his teammates. I can’t see Nicky Devlin staying beyond this window with him looking out of the picture, although it was strange that Lobban was on the bench v Hearts with Devlin out of the squad then for Dundee, Lobban was out of the squad with Devlin on the bench. There’s been rumours of Devlin moving to a fellow Scottish Premiership side, so I can see this materialising. I can see Lobban accepting a rotation role for this season with the view of being a starter in the near future. If Devlin leaves, it means we have Cadden and Lobban as “natural” right backs with Mayo, Milne and Lyons as “unnatural” backups.

Centre Backs -

Dan Happe
Lewis Mayo
Mats Knoester
Jack Milne
Kristers Tobers
Gavin Molloy
Jamie Mercer
Joel Okhuoya

This position really baffles me if we are staying with the 4-2-3-1, we have FAR too many senior centre halves. I know that Tobers is coming back from another injury, alongside Knoester, but they’re going to be back in the near future. The two players who have started this season in a partnership (due to these injuries) are Dan Happe and Lewis Mayo. I can see Mercer and Okhuoya getting loan moves so I would discount them from the first team picture. I wouldn’t be surprised (but I would be really disappointed) if Knoester left in this window, I would rather prefer we lost Molloy to be honest. There’s been no credible rumours of players leaving in this position, but there is surely going to be an outgoing or two.

Left Back -

Nesta Guinness-Walker
Emmanuel Gyamfi
Mitchel Frame

Nesta Guinness-Walker is the number 1 in this position, with Gyamfi still out injured and Frame is reportedly wanted by clubs in Poland and England. I really hope we keep Frame, I can see a real player in there, someone who can get us forward really well, but he does need first team games. From the fact that Frame hasn’t featured on the bench yet this season, I would assume that he is being offered out to clubs with Gyamfi viewed as the 2nd option once back from injury. Molloy has also provided depth in this position. Mercer also really impressed in his friendly vs Cove in pre-season in this position, so maybe he’s also being viewed as a backup option if he doesn’t leave on loan.

Central Midfield -

Brad Lyons
Afeez Aremu
Stuart Armstrong
Alexander Briedl
Kjartan Kjartansson
Ante Palaversa
Cooper Masson

I think the favoured central midfielder is Brad Lyons, he’s looked solid enough so far. The other spot looks really up for contention, Aremu was subbed off at half time at Dundee, Briedl really didn’t impress too, Armstrong has played a bit further forward in replacement of Connor Ronan and Kjartansson hasn’t been in the squad. There’s been rumours of Kjartansson leaving, which I can see and Palaversa is most certainly leaving this window. Masson was on the bench against Dundee so he may be seen as backup depth but also may go out on loan. I can see us maybe getting one more midfielder in with 4 players fighting for the two spots (Lyons, Aremu, Briedl and an incoming) with Armstrong rotating with Ronan in the attacking midfielder role.

Attacking Midfield -

Connor Ronan
Findlay Marshall

Connor Ronan is the most creative player in our team and I can only assume, if he’s fit, he’s starting. I think Stuart Armstrong will move into this position as a backup, with Findlay Marshall possibly going out on loan. I would like us to get one more creative midfielder in, as we seen the lack of creativity the team had against Dundee with Ronan missing.

Wingers -

Tony Yogane
Lewis Smith
Toyosi Olusanya
Kenan Bilalovic
Andrew Fasanya

I think it’s maybe somewhere we need to strengthen, even with Robinson’s talk of Ntelo being maybe used as a winger. Yogane has been the starter on the left with Olusanya starting on the right, but I think Smith will take over on the right. Kenan Bilalovic has been rumoured of leaving but there’s been no concrete interest so I can see him staying past this window. Fasanya has been a bright spot after his debut in the Premier Sports Cup, but we can’t rely on a 15 year old to strengthen our wide areas.

Strikers -

Kevin Nisbet
Ayoub Mouloua
Mitchy Ntelo
Kusini Yengi

Kevin Nisbet is our most natural number 9 and Mouloua has impressed with his work ethic when he’s came onto the pitch. Ntelo has been brought in to bring a bit more physical aspects to the front line. Yengi, I would presume, will be leaving in this window, it has been talked about that he may stay, but I can’t see him staying with Nisbet, Mouloua, Ntelo and Olusanya being strikers here.

So in my opinion, this is what I think (with a hint of what I hope) we will do for the rest of the window -

Incomings -

Central Midfielder
Attacking Midfielder (creative like Ronan)

Outgoings -

Dimitar Mitov
Mitchel Frame
Kjartan Kjartansson (maybe loan?)
Ante Palaversa
Findlay Marshall (loan)
Kusini Yengi

Let’s get straight into the loan watch.

In the Championship, Inverness Caledonian Thistle drew 0-0 at Arbroath with Alfie Bavidge and Alfie Stewart both starting the game. Bavidge played 67 minutes and Stewart played 87 minutes.

In League One, Cove Rangers went down 2-0 at East Fife with Joseph Teasdale starting the game and playing 88 minutes. Dylan Ross was not in the matchday squad.

Also in League One, Peterhead won 1-0 at Queen of the South. All three young Dons, Lewis Carrol, Jack Searle and Zak To, started on the bench, with To playing 36 minutes and Searle 14 minutes, his first minutes of the season.

And in League Two, Elgin City drew 1-1 with Forfar Athletic. Not much to report here, with Aaron Cummings an unused substitute and Sam McLean yet to make any matchday squads.

On to Highland League action, and Buckie Thistle drew 2-2 with Brora Rangers. JJ Hulse played the full game, scoring his third goal of the season after 38 minutes. Theo Simpson was an unused substitute.

Deveronvale lost 3-0 at Invergordon, with James Jarvie playing the full game.

Fraserburgh were 2-0 winners at Forres Mechanics, with Rodrigo Vitols making his debut, playing the full game and keeping a clean sheet.

Keith played out a 2-2 draw at home to Lossiemouth. Max Pocklington and Heath Duncan both started the game. Pocklington played the full game, and Duncan played 79 minutes, scoring his first senior goal after 44 minutes, with Pocklington getting the credit for the assist.

Turriff United were 2-0 winners at Wick Academy with Bradley Chikomo and Jay Henderson starting on the bench. Henderson came on for the final 10 minutes for his senior debut.

And finally, in the North of Scotland Championship, Banchory St. Ternan lost 2-0 to Stoneywood Parkvale with Conlan Waldron an, I assume, unused substitute. To be honest, with this being Tier 7 of Scottish football, there is no official coverage. Banchory St. Ternan actually have a lot of coverage on their social media, with a lot of photos and even video highlights. They don’t give substitute details, though, so unless anyone wants to be my ITK source, I’m going to have to use a little guesswork here.

Most, if not all, of our loan players will be returning to Aberdeen to play in the KDM Evolution Trophy on Tuesday against Forfar Athletic. Cove Rangers, Peterhead, Elgin City and Fraserburgh are also competing in the league stage of the tournament, so it’s possible that some players may play for their loan club.

As a quick reminder on the rules, the Aberdeen team will be made up of U21 players with three overage players permitted. While players can play for either Aberdeen or their loan team, they will be cup-tied to one team. Their cup-tied status is reset for the knock-out stage. Since Aberdeen will be playing Fraserburgh, Cove Rangers and Elgin City in the league stage, our players on loan at those clubs will not be permitted to play for either team in those games.

Age: 25

Position: Striker

Club: Aberdeen

Nationality: Belgian

Mitchy Ntelo is a 25 year old striker who has moved to Aberdeen from Swiss side Yverdon-Sport for an undisclosed fee on a two year deal with an option of a third. He came through the Standard Liege academy although he didn’t make a senior league appearance for them. He spent the 21/22 season on loan at Dutch 2nd tier side MVV Maastricht, scoring 10 league goals in 34 games. He then moved to fellow Belgian side Sporting Charleroi and was a regular in the B team, but only managed 1 goal in 41 games. A free transfer to Bulgarian side Lokomotiv Plovdiv in January 2024, and he regained his scoring touch, scoring 6 goals in 18 games which earned him a move to Yverdon-Sport for around €700,000 in August 2024. However the move never really paid off, where he scored 2 goals in 30 games. He was on loan back to Bulgaria with Botev Vratsa for the 2nd half of last season and scored 6 goals in just over 600 minutes!

I’ve attached a Botev Vratsa graph and a graph of his best season in his career with MVV Maastricht to just see how he’s got on last season (although under very minimum minutes) and how he got on in his best season to get a gauge of, if he is a success, what type of player he is.

Ntelo is left footed, and has really good physical strengths. He’s fast, strong and can get around the pitch really well. In his best season, he really shown he was a good link up play and strong carrier of the ball while showing he can find the goal too. He’s strong in the air and I feel like he’s maybe a different type of striker to Nisbet, more of a strong and fast target man but really neat on the ball too.

You can see by the stats that he is always top in the league for scoring when he gets shots on target, that could mean either that he’s an extremely good poacher, he can get into good positions and almost guarantees a goal with his positioning or his ball striking skills are really strong, and his placement of shots are fantastic. Going by the low shots, I’d say he’s a really good movement striker, gets into good positions and he’s good in the air so is a good target for high crosses.

I can see Robinson talks about how he could possibly play out wide and I can get why with his physical strengths. It would be really interesting to see how he can play out wide and as Robinson says, he can give real versatility as a winger or as a central forward.

He was reportedly on the verge of a move to Coventry City in 2024 for over £1Million, so he certainly has interested a lot of teams over his career.

Overall, I don’t know the fee for the player but I’d imagine its in the low-medium 6 figures. I can see that when he is in his best form, he can be a formidable player, and he’s a physical player which I think will suit the league and gives us a much different option to Nisbet. I can see this being a good signing, although there is a little risk that he just can’t get his scoring going like he did at Yverdon-Sport and Sporting Charleroi.

Buckie Thistle ran out 2-0 winners away to Strathspey Thistle. JJ Hulse started the game, playing on the right-wing of a 3-5-2 formation. He played the full game, scoring Buckie’s second goal of the game, and his second goal of the season, two minutes into second-half stoppage time. Theo Simpson was an unused substitute.

Deveronvale were defeated 1-0 at Huntly. James Jarvie played the full game an centre-back, picking up a yellow card five minutes into second-half stoppage time.

Keith went down 1-0 at Fraserburgh. Max Pocklington started the game, playing on the left side of midfield in a 5-3-2. He played for 77 minutes. Heath Duncan played the final 13 minutes of the game, possibly playing at right wing-back after a double substitution.

Turriff United were 1-0 victors at home to Formartine United. Jay Henderson and Bradley Chikomo both started the game on the bench, with Chikomo playing the final 18 minutes.

Everyone has a game tomorrow, then on Tuesday, the KDM Evolution Trophy kicks off when Aberdeen travel to Forfar Athletic.

First, though, the Aberdeen squad numbers for 2026-27 were announced, and 11 under-21 players were included. The interesting names are to be found in the large numbers. While players like Jamie Mercer and Cooper Masson may only have been included while they await loan deals to be secured for the season, we see two members of the AFC Youth Academy class of 2026 in #53 Andrew Fasanya and #56 Joel Okhuoya. Fasanya, of course, made his first team debut last week, becoming our youngest ever player, and the first 15-year-old ever to play for the Dons.

Looking at our players out on loan:

At Inverness Caledonian Thistle, Alfie Bavidge played 88 minutes and scored against Morton in the Premier Sports Cup and ICT won their group to get through the knock-out stage. He again started in the first league game in the Championship, a 0-0 draw with Dunfermline, and played 77 minutes. Alfie Stewart also started both games, playing 74 minutes at Morton and the full game against Dunfermline.

To League One and Cove Rangers where Joseph Teasdale played the full games in both Cove’s 2-0 defeat to Dumbarton in the Premier Sports Cup and the 0-0 draw with Airdrieonians in the opening league game. Dylan Ross was left out the matchday squad for both games.

Staying in League One with Peterhead, and Zak To came on for the final 29 minutes in the penalty shoot-out victory over Kilmarnock in the Premier Sports Cup. He also played the final 23 minutes in the 1-0 defeat by Ross County in the opening league game. Lewis Carrol missed out against Kilmarnock and was an unused substitute against Ross County. Jack Searle has yet to feature in a matchday squad this season.

And in League Two with Elgin City, Aaron Cummings came on at half-time as Elgin went down 5-0 to Hamilton in their final Premier Sports Cup game, and played the final 12 minutes in a 5-0 victory over Edinburgh City in the opening league game. Sam McLean did not feature in either matchday squad.

Now into the Highland League, starting with Buckie Thistle. Buckie opened their campaign with a 2-0 victory over Inverurie Locos. Both Theo Simpson and JJ Hulse started on the bench, with Hulse coming on for the final 18 minutes to make his senior debut. In the 7-2 victory over Banks O’ Dee the next weekend, both played the full game, with JJ scoring his first senior goal, making it 4-0 after 49 minutes.

At Turriff United, we now find Bradley Chikomo after his aborted loan to Elgin City. He started from the bench in both games, playing 16 minutes against Clachnacuddin in a 0-0 draw and 25 minutes against Deveronvale in a 2-1 victory. He was credited with an assist for the winning goal in the 68th minute and received a yellow card in the 84th minute. Jay Henderson did not feature in either matchday squad.

At the aforementioned Deveronvale, James Jarvie made his senior debut in a 3-0 defeat to Brora Rangers where he played the full game. He played the final 19 minutes against Turriff.

And at Keith, two more players made their senior debuts. Max Pocklington started the season opener, a 5-1 defeat to Forres, playing 77 minutes and receiving a yellow card in the 40th minute. He came off the bench in the second game against Nairn County, playing 15 minutes in a 1-1 draw. Heath Duncan came on at half-time against Forres, picking up an immediate booking in the 48th minute, and started against Nairn, playing 74 minutes.

In the North of Scotland Championship, goalkeeper Conlan Waldron was an unused substitute for Banchory St. Ternan as they won their season opener this past weekend against Nairn St. Ninian.

I’ll be back on Friday with a round-up of the mid-week Highland League fixtures.

I think if you asked any Falkirk fan that in your first season back in the top flight would you take top 6? They would have snatched it. Well, that’s what they done, although were looking like they might get a European spot, they dropped near the end of the season.

The Falkirk squad was such a solid squad for a first season back in the league. They had the perfect blend of solid Scottish talent in players like Brad Spencer, Liam Henderson and Calvin Miller then added in some younger English loan talents like Harvey Cartwright and Filip Lissah. Dylan Tait really excelled too, alongside the first half of the season performance from Scott Bain, who arguably was the best performing keeper in the league. Barney Stewart had a really strong first half of the season loan in the Scottish Championship with Dunfermline and really took that form into the second half of the season with Falkirk. John McGlynn done a fantastic job in managing the team and the morale of the team was so high during the full season.

6th in the Premiership is where they finished which is really solid for a newly promoted team and it’s good to see a team like Falkirk back in the league.

New Signings -

Jay Hogarth is a 23 year old Scottish goalkeeper who has joined Falkirk from Clyde but has been sent back out on loan to the lower league side. It’s been very much stated that he comes in as Falkirk’s Number 3 goalkeeper but will be sent on loan to gain match experience but can come back in an injury emergency. He really impressed in Scottish League 2 last season for Clyde, and is viewed as a goalkeeper to watch in the future.

There’s no data for the next signing (as he’s played U21 football only) so I’m going to have to wing it. Ethan Laidlaw is a 21 year old Scottish attacker who has joined Falkirk from English Premier League side Brentford. He came through the Hibernian academy where he was very highly rated before moving to EPL side Brentford. He was a striker when coming through the Hibs academy but he’s been used out wide too for Brentford. He was the Brentford B Player of the Year last year and they even offered him a new deal but he chose to move to Falkirk. He’s a powerful runner with a real eye for goal, and it’s going to be interesting to see how he adapts to first team football.

Paul McGovern is a 18 year old Northern Irish attacker who has joined Falkirk from Northern Irish side Glenavon. It’s impressive for a 17/18 year old to have that many minutes in a season for a side so he must have some good talent. He played all across the front line for Glenavon last season so it’s hard to pinpoint his real position. He’s a technical player, likes to consistently run at opponents and always tries to get shots off.

Jack McMillan is a 28 year old Scottish right back who has joined Falkirk from EFL side Exeter City. He played more as a left wing back/midfielder for Exeter last season, but I see him as more of a right back. He was a really strong player for Partick Thistle in their promotion attempts before moving to Exeter in 2024. He’s a fully committed full back, defensively and attacking wise. He’s actually technically quite decent and is very hard working. He reminds me a little bit of Nicky Devlin, where you can expect 100% on his attacking and defensive play, a bit like a box-to-box full back.

Deniss Melniks is a 23 year old Latvian centre half who has moved to Falkirk from Latvian side Auda. I feel like this is a hugely interesting signing. He’s 6ft 3 and really strong in the air, always relishing an aerial duel. Defensively he’s solid enough too and he has previous experience in defensive midfield and central midfield, so he is decent enough on the ball.

Lewis Neilson is a 23 year old Scottish centre half who has made his Falkirk loan from Hearts last season a permanent deal. This is a strange move to me, he never really shone that much for Falkirk last season but it’s maybe someone that McGlynn can think can develop into a really solid defender. He’s a strong defender who is decent in the air and is decently paced but he’s not that great defensively or on the ball.

Craig Sibbald is a 31 year old Scottish central midfielder who has moved back to Falkirk from Scottish Premiership side Dundee United. I really like this signing for a team who is in that bottom half of the table in terms of stature. He’s a Falkirk loon, he’s quite an influential player and has bags of experience. He’s a really good all-round midfielder, I’d play him as a box-to-box midfielder and I feel like this could be really good in partnership with Brad Spencer.

Ryan Strain is a 29 year old Australian right back who has moved to Falkirk from Scottish Premiership side Dundee United. If Ryan Strain can stay fit, he is a superb signing for most Scottish Premiership sides. He’s an extremely good wing back who loves to get forward and can fire in really good deliveries into the box. He’s also a really good set piece taker and can easily create your team 5-10 goals a season from the right back spot. He is also solid defensively, the only real downside is his injury history, so if Falkirk can keep him fit, he’s an outstanding signing for them.

Scott Tanser is a 31 year old English left back who has signed for Falkirk from Scottish Premiership side St. Mirren. I would also say this is a really strong signing although I don’t see him getting in ahead of the superb Leon McCann at left back. He’s another really good player at getting forward with a really good cross on him, he’s also decent enough defensively but he does lack a little bit of pace, which could cause him being exploited one on one down the left.

Ben Krauhaus is a 22 year old English right winger/attacking midfielder who has joined Falkirk on loan from EPL side Brentford, he spent last season on loan at EFL League Two side Bromley. I’d say this is a decent signing for Falkirk, another loan talent from England after they got a few last season on loan. He’s a good dribbler and is a flair player too. He likes to run with the ball as often as possible, sometimes ignoring easy passes to try get past a defender. He’s always looking to get forward and is rarely negative.

Possible Lineup -

This Season -

I feared for Falkirk when they lost Barney Stewart, Calvin Miller, Dylan Tait and Filip Lissah, but they have recruited quite decently so far. I still think they maybe lack the same type of ability as those four but I think they’re decent enough to stay up. Especially if they keep McGlynn as manager, he’ll keep them nice and solid. It does look like McGlynn has went for some Scottish Premiership experience in players such as Sibbald, Strain, and Tanser, alongside some younger talent in Melniks, Laidlaw, McGovern and Krauhaus. I’ve got them down as doing worse than last season but as I said, still enough to stay up and be a solid enough team.

Aberlytics Prediction - 7th in the Scottish Premiership

Cove Rangers were humbled 5-0 at Dunfermline Athletic. Dylan Ross and Joseph Teasdale both started the game, with Ross playing the full game Teasdale taken off at half-time.

Peterhead lost 1-0 at Raith Rovers, where Zak To played the full 90 minutes and Lewis Carrol was an unused substitute.

One that I missed from Saturday was in the friendly between Deveronvale and Deveronside, where James Jarvie scored in a 4-3 victory.

In some loan news, Sam McLean will be joining Aaron Cummings at Elgin City this season. He had originally been announced as joining Huntly, so this is a nice step up. Elgin also announced that Bradley Chikomo has been recalled by Aberdeen.

Tomorrow sees the final round of fixtures in the Premier Sports Cup and the opening day of the Highland League, so we could potentially see everyone bar Conlan Waldron in action.

The plan for Loan Watch is to do two reports a week, but I’m taking a holiday break, so you can look forward to a bumper edition in just under two weeks.

Age: 21

Position: Right Back/Centre Back

Club: Kayserispor

Nationality: English

Transfermarkt value: £426,000

Jadel Katongo is a 21 year old English right back/centre back who currently plays in the Turkish top flight for Kayserispor. He has split time between right back and centre half, but I believe we’d be targeting him as a right back rather than a centre half. He came through the Manchester City youth system as a centre half but a loan to Peterborough in the 23/24 season moved him to right back where he really excelled. He was brought back to Peterborough on another loan in the 24/25 season but never really kicked on. He moved to Turkish side Kayserispor in January for around £250,000, and he’s currently got 2 years left on his deal. After a little struggle at the start of his time at Kayserispor, he finished the season strongly with 7 starts in a row at right back and centre half.

It’s hard to tell what type of full back he actually is, he seems like a good passer, okay in the defensive game, but I’d say he’s a deep playing right back. Don’t expect him to push forward too much, he doesn’t have the pace to out-pace opposition players (different defensively as he can use his body better). He’s a good progressive passer and he’s a very safe player to have in possession of the ball. His upside is that he’s versatile, he can play right back, centre half and also has played in the centre of midfield before.

I really don’t know what to think about this signing, he should have good technical ability after coming through the Manchester City academy but I can’t see this being any better than playing Mayo at right back, which we might be looking at doing with the depth we have at centre half once Tobers and Knoester come back in. If we are paying money for him, I’d hope it’s a small-ish sum. He is only 21 however, so of course he still has some development ahead of him. If he was brought in to be a centre half, I’d maybe understand it a bit more, player profile wise.

With Dundee United finishing 4th in their first season back in the top flight (in the 24/25 season), you’d have thought they’d kick on and try at least match that or get European places, but they failed to do both, ending up finishing 7th. Their season was a bit up and down, going through decent patches at times then bad patches etc. They did exit the Europa Conference League in the 3rd Qualifying Round but it was to a decent Austrian side in Rapid Vienna.

I don’t feel like there were any reasons behind this really, other than other teams in the Scottish Premiership improved their side and Dundee United really didn’t. They did have a bit of a nightmare with keepers in the first half of the season, with new signing Kucherenko making multiple mistakes, getting dropped then sold. Zach Sapsford really started the season well, but faided out towards the 2nd half of the season. The one place on the pitch which really impressed me from Dundee United is their central midfielders, Panutche Camara and Emmanuel Agyei, who really look like technical work horses in the middle of the field.

New Signings -

Jordan Amissah is a 24 year old Ghanian goalkeeper who has moved to Dundee United from EFL side Burton Albion on a free transfer. I definitely see this as a number 2 goalkeeper acquisition. I actually quite liked him for that 6 month period at Ross County in 24/25, he was apart of a really poor team and I thought he was a very good shot stopper (apart from that mistake of Nisbet’s free kick).

Michael Forbes is a 22 year old Northern Irish centre half who has moved to Dundee United from recently relegated side West Ham on a free transfer. I’m really unsure how to feel about this transfer, he didn’t really stand out that much in EFL League One last season while on loan at Northampton. He’s left sided which is a bonus and he’s a duel winner but he’s 6ft 2 and looks average in the air.

Mehdi Merghem is a 29 year old Algerian right winger who has moved to Dundee United from French side SC Bastia on a free transfer. This is a very interesting signing, someone who looked really promising a couple of years ago but hasn’t settled down at a club since, constantly moving. He’s a flair-y creative winger, I wouldn’t say he’s speedy but he’s technically really good. He’s left footed and plays on the right, so he moves to cut in on his left foot and shoot long, hence the high shots rate.

Jesse Randall is a 23 year old New Zealander left winger who has moved to Dundee United from A-League side Auckland FC on a free transfer. He’s a fast direct winger who really improved last season in the A-League, being one of the best performers. He’s not really highly weighted more towards creativity or being a finisher, he’s more of an all round exciting winger. He’s a right footed left winger, so he does like to cut inside on his right but equally he likes running at defenders down the left hand side.

Joshua Rawlins is a 22 year old Australian right back who has moved to Dundee United from A-League side Melbourne Victory. I’d say he’s an athletic right wing back rather than a traditional full back. He’s very attacking, and has some really good attacking traits but he really lacks in the defensive game. He’s aggressive, has a good engine and works really hard for the team.

Lachlan Rose is a 27 year old Australian striker who has moved to Dundee United from A-League side Newcastle Jets. I’m really sceptical about this signing. From what I’ve seen he’s a penalty box striker who is really poor in link up play. He is a good hard working striker, and he’s a decent finisher but as I said, he really lacks in his game outside finishing and I don’t believe it really suits Dundee United.

Dylan Tait is a 24 year old Scottish central midfielder who has moved to Dundee United from fellow Scottish Premiership side Falkirk on a free transfer. I think this is a really good signing, he’s a proven Scottish Premiership technical midfielder. He’s such a positive midfielder, which can be a bit tricky when he gets the ball in the number 6 position and he tries risky passes. I think he really suits maybe being a playmaking number 10, he’s decent at finishing too so can support a striker.

Jack Walton is a 28 year old English goalkeeper who has moved back to Dundee United from EFL side Preston. He’s already shown in his first spell with Dundee United that he’s a really solid and reliable goalkeeper. He’s just an all round really good goalkeeper, good shot stopper, can play with the ball at his feet and at a really good age to come into his prime while at Dundee United.

Idjessi Metsoko is a 24 year old Togolese striker who has moved to Dundee United on loan from Czech side Viktoria Plzen. Another interesting signing but not sure how to look at him as he’s moved between multiple sides over the past few seasons. He seems like a really good all round striker apart from his defensive work, he has good link up play, can progress the ball with dribbles and is strong in front of goal, but this is from Czech 2nd tier, and he hasn’t really kicked on at higher levels.

Possible Lineup -

This Season -

I’m just really not too sure about Dundee United this season. They’ve improved the central midfield area, and brought in creative players but the players they’ve brought in are either players who have journeymanned their career over the past few years or it’s young players who have had one really strong season at a lower level. I’m not the biggest fan of Goodwin, I feel like if the going gets tough, he really sticks it into the players and can easily lose the dressing room.

They’ve lost good players like Luca Stephenson and Amar Fatah, and I just don’t believe the players they’ve signed will be good enough or consistent enough to make a real impact.

In my opinion, they maybe have enough to stay up so far, but they need a few more additions to really push for a top six finish.

Aberlytics Prediction - 10th in the Scottish Premiership

Age: 29

Position: Right Wing Back

Club: Hibernian

Nationality: Scottish

Transfermarkt value: £426,000

Chris Cadden is a 29 year old right wing back who currently plays for Scottish Premiership rivals Hibernian. He can play any position down the right hand side but is predominantly seen as a right wing back. He only has a year left on his deal and it’s reported that Hibernian are keen to let him go.

I’d say Cadden is very much a physical attacking wing back, he’s strong and likes to get down the line to get crosses in the box. I wouldn’t say he’s the best possession based wing back, he won’t technically give you good passes into areas, but he’s the type of player to have the energy to overlap the winger and get some good crosses in.

He’s the type of wing back who will give his everything and be brave in front of the ball, but I would say that he is very average defensively, you wouldn’t call him a defensive wing back.

I would maybe struggle with him playing right back against the bigger teams, I would say that maybe suits a Lewis Mayo who is more defensive but certainly, against the smaller teams, Cadden would be a very competent right back.

I feel like he’s maybe a perfect Robinson signing, he’s strong, gives his all and knows the league. He has his flaws, but it’s outweighed in Robinson’s mind by his effort on the pitch. I actually wouldn’t mind the signing if it’s on a 2 year deal, you’re getting him in his prime, he’s a known commodity in the league and he can cover down the whole right hand side, I do believe that he could easily play as a direct winger on the right hand side. He would also be decently priced with the fact that his contract is up next summer and it looks like Hibs have 2 right backs that they prefer to him already, so they would quite like to get him off the wage bill.

When Dundee appointed Steven Pressley at the start of the season, many thought that would be them languishing at the bottom of the table or fighting with Livingston to stay up. The season certainly started that way with 3 wins in their first 18 league games, but then Pressley found the formula to get results, mainly with relying on Yogane and Cosgrove on the wings as their key players, they managed to push themselves above the relegation spots and finished 8th in the end!

They possibly missed a real number 9 in the team, which they do have in terms of Simon Murray, but it’s came out that he was actually playing half of last season with a partially torn ACL, which has now healed. One of their best permanent signings was Ethan Hamilton, who really started to command the midfield in the 2nd half of the season. This season also saw the emergence of Luke Graham, who really shined in lower league loan spells but this season really shown his strength in the heart of the Dundee defence, which has brought some interest in him.

New Signings -

Zan Besir is a 25 year old Slovenian central midfielder who has moved to Dundee from Slovenian side Primorje on a free transfer. I’d say that Besir is very much a box-to-box midfielder in terms of being good in front of goal but can also break up play very well, but maybe not the most creative. He reminds me of Mark O’Hara, where he’s just good in both boxes but not good in terms of build up play with passes but he can progress the ball well with dribbles.

Owen Bevan is a 22 year old Welsh centre half who has moved to Dundee from Premier League side Bournemouth. He’s had a previous loan to Hibernian in the 23/24 season (after the graph above) which he didn’t play at all with injuries. Ever since then, he hasn’t made a first team appearance, so it may take him a little bit of time to get back up to speed to a first team environment. I would say he’s very much a brave centre half, maybe not the best on the ball but is more of a no-nonsence centre back.

Ryan Finnigan is a 22 year old English central midfielder who has moved to Dundee from EFL side Blackpool on a free transfer. He played the second half of last season for Walsall on loan in EFL League Two. I would say, he’s similar to Besir, in the fact that he’s a box-to-box midfielder, but he’s maybe slightly more creative. He’s a consistent player with high work rate too, so very much a solid signing.

Alan Forrest is a 29 year old right winger who has moved to Dundee from fellow Premiership side Hearts on a free transfer. I feel like Forrest really suits a lower end Premiership side like Dundee and will thrive for the club. He is pacey and direct and I feel like this is needed on the counter for the smaller sides. He had a really tough time at Hearts, where he was a little bit out of his depth. I would say he’s more of a goalscoring winger than a creative winger, but that’s something that may be added to his game. He has really good off the ball movement and is a hard working player, not a lazy winger.

Idris Odutayo is a 23 year old English left back that has joined Dundee from EFL side Bromley, he came through the Fulham academy. I would describe Odutayo as more of a wing back than a full back, but a real athletic one. He’s fast, good in the air and he can take the ball down the wing really well. He’s always a positive player, constantly moving the play forward. He does need to improve on his defensive side, but he is still young and Pressley is the perfect person to teach defending.

Possible Lineup -

This Season -

Dundee have lost 4 key players from last season, Luke Graham (centre-back), Jon McCracken (goalkeeper), Tony Yogane (left winger) and Cameron Cosgrove (right winger) and I just don’t believe they’ve replaced them. With the business so far, I think they’re really going to struggle this season, even if Simon Murray hits a little bit of form, but even he is digressing every season now with age. They may get some good English loans now that clubs across the border are doing their pre-season and figuring out who’s in their plans and who isn’t. They’ve strengthened in the central midfield area, which was needed with the departures of Yan Dhanda and Paul Digby. I don’t think Bevan is a good enough upgrade on Luke Graham.

Aberlytics Prediction - 11th in the Scottish Premiership