Kenny McLean can look back on his final season at Aberdeen with a certain satisfaction. The influential midfielder decided to join Norwich last January in a £350k deal that saw him loaned back to Aberdeen for the remainder of the season.
McLean was going to be out of contract in the summer but Norwich decided to make a move in January, such was the desire to get their man. Ever since that deal was done, I’ve been keeping an eye on Kenny and it has to be said, he’s been doing rather well.
He has scored 11 goals in 44 appearances for Aberdeen from a variety of midfield positions. He can play as a defensive or more orthodox midfielder and can also play as a number 10, which might come in handy next season.
Prior to kick off on Sunday, the Dons were not favourites to finish the SPL season in second place, having to play a final day game against Celtic and with third-placed Rangers facing Hibernian and being just 1 point behind them.
What followed though was a rather surprising set of circumstances.
First off, McLean’s Aberdeen beat Celtic at Celtic Park 1-0, with the game’s only goal coming on 47 minutes from Andrew Considine, our man McLean provided the assist.
Then Rangers and Hibs played out a stunning 5-5 draw with Hibs’ Jamie Maclaren scoring a 93rd-minute equaliser to deny Rangers the win, after Hibernian had gone 3-0 up inside 22 minutes.
In case you’re wondering, Russell Martin played the whole game for Rangers.
So, Aberdeen finished second, nine points behind Celtic, which, all things considered, isn’t bad at all and Kenny McLean will head south next month knowing he’s done his bit. Let’s hope he hits the ground running in Norfolk and can make a similar sort of impact for Norwich, next season.
OTBC