Willie Miller: Why loan return of Alfie Dorrington from Tottenham is superb business by Aberdeen

Press and Journal

9 hours ago

Aberdeen delivered a major piece of summer transfer window business by securing the loan return of Tottenham Hotspur defender Alfie Dorrington.
The 2o-year-old is a quality centre-back who is destined to rise to the top of the game.
Dorrington was impressive during a loan spell at Pittodrie from January last season and played a key role in the Scottish Cup win.
I'm sure he will have been on the radar of a number of clubs for a loan deal but Dons boss Jimmy Thelin secured a massive boost by taking him back to Pittodrie.
It is a win-win for all parties – Dorrington, Aberdeen and Tottenham.
Tottenham signed the defender on a new four-year contract until the summer of 2029 just before he went on loan to Aberdeen for the first time in January.
The Premier League club's commitment to securing Dorrington long-term shows they see a bright future for him at one of the biggest clubs in Britain.
Spurs are the current Europa League champions and have the potential to be one of the biggest clubs in Europe.
It is difficult for clubs at that level to aid the development of players by giving them regular game-time at an early age.
Which is why the return to Aberdeen will be so beneficial to Dorrington and the Dons.
The whole idea of a loan is to get game-time under your belt and Dorrington made 17 appearances in the second half of last season for Aberdeen.
Dorrington's levels improved last season as his loan spell progressed.
I expect him to again be a key part in Thelin's plans for the upcoming season.
The defender said a return to the Dons on loan was a 'no brainer'.
When you get that initial taste of regular first-team football you don't want to give it up, you want it to continue.
The England under-19 cap was clearly happy at Aberdeen and it also helps if you lift a bit of silverware at the end of the season as well.
Aberdeen also have centre-backs Jack Milne, Mats Knoester, Kristers Tobers, Gavin Molloy, Slobodan Rubezic and Richard Jensen.
The arrival of Dorrington on loan will raise questions about Rubezic and Jensen in the upcoming campaign as both were out on loan last season.
Aberdeen are a huge club with the finances to make sure the squad is strong and big enough to cope with European league football.
Players must take that as a challenge.
It is up to Rubezic and Jensen to try to be better than Dorrington.
When I was a youngster at Aberdeen trying to get into the first team I looked at the players around me in that position.
And I said to myself 'I have to be better than them'.
However, I think Dorrington will be hard to shift as his quality is definitely there.
For players wondering where their future lies at the club, the future lies in being better than anyone else in your position.
That's how I've always looked at it, to take it as a challenge. The gauntlet is down.
You are at a big club who are Scottish Cup winners and going into the league stage of Europe.
It is going to be challenging for everyone to get a starting slot – so embrace the challenge.
The only other option is to go elsewhere if you're not happy but in the build up to the season you have to fight for that position.
A positive for centre-backs like Rubezic is the manager has proven it is not just a back four with two centre-backs he plays with.
He can put three central defenders in as he did in the Scottish Cup final win against Celtic.
It might be on some occasions the manager will change his philosophy to go with three centre-backs.
Dorrington is definitely a player that will boost the squad.
However Thelin still needs to secure more numbers and quality in the window.