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Really hope the club start to target some Scottish players. Looks like we are likely to lose Jack McKenzie which would only leave Shinnie and Devlin as the only Scottish first team regulars. Massively important issue for me this. Not sure about the rest of you guys but for me, it's just not the same without a core of Scottish blood both in the squad and management team. A bit the same as when we had a national team filled with people with dodgy passports. I said previously (and was shot down by someone for it) that foreign players rarely work out for us/stick around for long and that has been proved so far in the main, aside from Miovski.

Confirmed on Sky Sports transfer centre: Aberdeen agree defender deal Latest from Sky Sports News' Anthony Joseph: Aberdeen have agreed a deal worth around £800,000 for Grasshoppers centre-back Kristers Tobers. The Latvia captain has also agreed personal terms with the Dons. He is due to arrive in Scotland tomorrow to undergo a medical and finalise the move.

And confirmed! https://www.afc.co.uk/2025/01/08/latvia-captain-makes-move-to-the-dons/

Gallagher and Bates, and thon other lad, Brown or something? If we're expanding to British, then McGrath, Stewart, Jet, Gurr and many others. I don't think there's any evidence of not coping with humour because of nationality in football or any other line of work. Most players we've signed, probably in our history, have had a good grasp of English. Apart from Johnny Hayes, who still requires an interpreter after over a decade in this country. Guys like Ramadani, Miovski, Sokler, Rubi all appear to enjoy playing here too. To be honest though, your initial suggestion was that you wanted to see more Scottish players playing, which I'd agree with because I think Scottish teams should provide a route to the national side, and if international football is to have any meaning, it should retain and promote that Scottish football connection. I also think that signing players like Hayes and McGrath is beneficial because they have proven SPFL record, but that would also be applicable if we signed a foreign player from another club. Mitov for example. Beyond that, I don't think there's any evidence from our signings that foreign players stay less time than British players or can integrate more successfully. Proportionally, we've signed as many dogshite players from down south as we gave foreigners from foreign land I expect.

Our signings are now predominantly data led, with a focus on value for money, supplemented by 2-3 that the manager has seen that he believes will fit our system. As we have a foreign manager, that supplement will be foreign rather than Scottish (Devlin, Shinnie etc) for the next window or two. That should revert to Scotland again as Thelin becomes more intimate with the players here, and his knowledge of home becomes less up to date. The exception was Nisbet, but that was clearly pragmatism based on Miovski leaving and the realisation that Ambrose wasn't actually a professional footballer at all. I agree, I would like to see more Scots. I don't think that's necessarily the case at all. I would say that the majority of the signings we make of any nationality rarely stick around. Obviously we can really only take this century as relevant, because of changes in transfers that probably didn't properly unfold completely until the late nineties. Of the Scottish players (Several, Nicholson) we've signed, there are just as many that play 100+ games as there are foreigners such as Logan, McGinn and Hayes*. Guys like Kenny MacLean had no more affinity with Aberdeen than Arnason for example. The main criteria for a player staying any length of time at AFC is if they fit in at our level, rather than nationality. MacLean was our level when he joined, but moved beyond that eventually and so joined Norwich. Miovski stayed another year just like Ferguson. I can't think of a single player who has joined us and stayed beyond the point they were deemed too good. If a player finds his level here then we'll likely immediately want him replaced with someone better as we're fickle that way! Devlin last season regularly identified as a weak link, Shinnie too, after a handful of poor performances. In terms of Scottish players in the squad, the most disappointing area is youth players coming through. Ramsay and Barron probably don't help the numbers, but I'd have hoped we'd be targeting one to two players per season making the squad and get regular minutes before the age of 21 (a bit arbitrary, I know). Milne squeezes in (defenders take longer!), and Duncan should be aiming for next season or moving on. I think youth products are really the only ones that are likely to develop significant affinity and loyalty, and the most likely to see a good number of appearances. Mainly because they might have family in and from the city, and may even raise family here. Again, though, that's only if they find their level here. *I've assumed you class Brits and Irish as foreigners (I do) based on your comments about the national side.

Work permit needed I believe, no clue how long that takes these days.

The defence is absolutely bereft of all confidence at the moment, and this is creeping in further up the field. I believe the only way to fix it is to being in quality in defence ... we ain't gonna fix the defence buying cheap. Okkers is in, Tobers almost in. I think we still need to keep the pressure on trying to get Jensen in too. Then when the time comes, get rid of MacDonald as he simply cannot play in JTs system Molloy is one for the future. If the new guys prove to be comfortable and competent, maybe pop Molloy or Rubi next to them against lower quality opposition so that they can continue their education

Given the time maybe he’s dreaming and sleep posting?