Live updates: Aberdeen pre-match press conference ahead of 2025/26 Premiership kick-off at Hearts

Press and Journal

21 hours ago

Aberdeen's first pre-match press conference of the 2025/26 season, ahead of Monday's Premiership opener at Hearts, will be held at 1.15pm on Friday – and we are bringing you all of the key updates from Cormack Park.
Jimmy Thelin's Dons will have to wait to kick off their top-flight campaign, and head to Tynecastle for a televised showdown with a Jambos side now managed by ex-Reds gaffer Derek McInnes.
Aberdeen boss Thelin will be speaking with the media at the club's training ground ahead of the match – and his sophomore season – while one player will also talk to the press.
Topics are sure to include attacker Pape Habib Gueye's exit and the Dons' hunt for further summer reinforcements – including their bid to land AC Milan's Serbian forward Marko Lazetic.
As well as Monday evening's Hearts game and squad news, including injury updates on the likes of Emmanuel Gyamfi, Kristers Tobers and Ester Sokler, there is also likely to be some build-up to the Europa League play-off draw involving the Reds, which is scheduled for Monday lunchtime.
Keep up to date with the Aberdeen press conference talking points below:
That's all from Cormack Park and Aberdeen's first pre-match conference of the new 2025/26 season.
For more build-up to Monday's Premiership opener at Hearts, keep an eye on The Press and Journal website.
Later on Friday, Paul Third will have an in-depth interview with Dons boss Jimmy Thelin, while there's also a catch-up with returning Spurs loanee Alfie Dorrington to come over the weekend.
1.53pm: The only comment Thelin made on the potential opposition in Monday's European draw is he is eager to avoid his managerial friends in charge of Sweden's Malmo and Norway's Brann.
Aberdeen's manager also said there will be no complaints from him over what is set to be a hectic game-load this term: ''We know before the start of the season how many games there are and we can't have that as an excuse. We have to prepare and look forward (to it).
'If I could choose to be in Europe or not, I'm going to choose to be in Europe.
'For us to be exposed to this (European football) every year, for me, is so important for the club.'
1.53pm: Aberdeen gaffer Thelin is asked whether splitting Celtic and Rangers in the Premiership is on the agenda this season after Aberdeen, Hearts and Hibs' investment this summer.
Thelin – 'I don't think like that – I think what we have to do and what we can do as a club and as a team.
'We have to be stronger in every department and better every year.'
1.51pm: Thelin – 'Of course, always you want to have that, but it's a thing you have to evolve, and it's different parts – one is to be better connected as a team when you're under pressure in some parts.
'It's not always the perfect game
'There's a lot of things we've gone through and identified we have to be better at, and also the capacity to stay on the pitch – how we train, how we keep the players fresh and healthy.'
1.50pm: Centre-back Kristers Tobers and new left-back Emmanuel Gyamfi are still 'two or three more weeks before they are ready to play' and will miss Tynecastle, Dons boss Thelin confirms, while still not revealing the specifics of their injuries.
'But everyone else is available', Thelin added.
1.49pm: Thelin, reiterating what he said after the Ipswich friendly on Friday, on Hearts v Aberdeen, said – 'We are ready for an exciting first league game away against Hearts, to play against our away supporters in the atmosphere (at Tynecastle) in a competitive game.
'There are a lot of positive things to look forward to, and of course we feel ready for this game.'
1.48pm: Thelin – 'With this situation it's always difficult to say something. It's an open window and we are not alone in the market.
'We have some thing we're working on, but I can't tell you more than that right now.'
1.46pm: Jimmy Thelin is in the room. The first topic was not just Pape Gueye's departure, but also the exit of the likes of defender Richard Jensen – who departed on Thursday night – and attacker Vicente Besuijen, who has been loaned to HJK Helsinki until January:
'The players all contributed when they were here and did really good.
'Sometimes players leave. It's a normal process of the game when they've been in a club some years.
'Sometimes it's for exposure to more game-time, and sometimes they are moving on in their career for another adventure and another opportunity.
'Some are on loan, some are departures – so it's two different situations… but we're always proud of our players and we wish them luck.'
Thelin also referenced trying to bring 'balance to the squad' this summer.
1.33pm: Still no Jimmy Thelin in the press room at Cormack Park. Returning Tottenham Hotspur defender Alfie Dorrington up for interview first and reflecting on why he came back to the north-east.
12.42pm: The latest pictures of the Dons players working hard during today's training session at Cormack Park have dropped.
Dons boss Thelin will be addressing the media shortly.
12.26pm: Big team Aberdeen, unlike Hearts, weren't in the Premier Sports Cup group stage (they'll enter in the knock-outs against Greenock Morton in a couple of weeks' time), because they've got European football to look forward to this term.
Sweet, lucrative, guaranteed European league football until at least Christmas!
The Dons begin their European adventure with a Europa League play-off tie – to decide whether it will be the Europa or Conference League for them – later this month.
With the potential opponents whittled down to 23 teams as of Thursday night, and the draw for the play-offs on Monday, Thelin will also be asked about this at Friday's press conference, no doubt.
Will he say much? Unclear.
But you can decide who you want Aberdeen to draw with our profiles of ALL of the potentials here: Aberdeen FC's 23 potential Europa League play-off rivals profiled
12.23pm: One statistic likely to come up during the first Aberdeen pre-match presser of the 2025/26 season, especially with an away game to start, is their struggles on the road last term.
The Dons, who finished fifth in the Premiership – despite looking like contenders for second early in the campaign – won just five away games in the top-flight last term.
If you discount their first three away games of the season, during their incredible start to Thelin's rein, it was just TWO.
The good news? Aberdeen were unbeaten in four meetings against Monday's opponents Hearts last season, but the Gorgie outfit have made a strong start in the Premier Sports Cup under their new boss Derek McInnes – the long-time Dons manager.
McInnes has guided his side to four straight wins, scoring 16 goals and conceding one, as they topped their section in qualification from the group stage.
It should also be noted Aberdeen haven't won at Tynecastle, I think, since 2017.
Alongside the SMISA, it is a real Reds bogey venue.
12.16pm: Of course, the main topic of the press conference at Cormack Park on Friday is to set the scene for Monday's tough Premiership opener at Hearts.
Following Friday night's final pre-season friendly against Ipswich Town (3-1 defeat), Jimmy Thelin confirmed striker Ester Sokler was not in his squad due to injury.
(However, he also said that about the now-departed Pape Gueye's absence… *eyes emoji*)
Will Sokler be confirmed as fit again for the Hearts game, given Aberdeen only have him, Yengi and Peter Ambrose as recognised senior strikers on their books just now?
The other fitness question marks going into Friday's presser revolve around Latvia captain and centre-back Kristers Tobers and new left-back Emmanuel Gyamfi, who both missed all of the pre-season games.
Thelin's prognosis on their injuries – and the timeline for their return – has been vague so far.
Tobers struggled with hamstring complaint, which meant he missed nine games at the tail-end of last term following his big-money January arrival, though he did come on in the Scottish Cup final victory over Celtic.
Gyamfi, meanwhile, has still to make his debut after arriving from Schalke 04's B team.
Maybe Thelin will give us more clarity today, but I wouldn't expect to see Tobers or Gyamfi at Tynecastle as things stand.
12.08pm: As Gueye leaves Aberdeen, the Dons have been ramping up their bid to sign 21-year-old Serbian striker Marko Lazetic from Italian giants AC Milan.
The forward was a Dons target in January, and negotiations have been continuing ever since, The Press and Journal understands.
But Milan are proving hard to pin down over Lazetic – who is not in the picture at the San Siro and spent last term on loan with TSC in his homeland.
While there have been reports of AC demanding as much as four million euros for the forward, it is understood Dons chiefs expect it will take far less to land their man – who they view as a 'project' player in a summer where they have already signed 26-year-old Australia international striker Kusini Yengi.
Will Thelin anything about the Lazetic chase?
12.03pm: Just like that, Gueye's move to Turkey has been confirmed by Aberdeen.
'We wish Pape all the very best with his transfer to Turkey, and we thank him for his contributions during his time at Aberdeen, notably his positive impact in the Scottish Cup final', said Dons boss Jimmy Thelin.
'We're pleased with our recruitment so far this summer and the work remains ongoing to bring in further reinforcements and improvements ahead of the window closing. We are still shaping the squad.
'We thank Pape for his efforts and wish him all the best with the next chapter in his career.'
11.58am: The very first thing Aberdeen boss Jimmy Thelin is likely to be asked about in his Friday presser is the impending departure of attacker Pape Habib Gueye for Turkish side Kasimpasa.
It is understood the Dons will make a £350,000 profit on the 25-year-old Senegalese, pulling in an £850,000 fee, having paid Belgian outfit KV Kortrijk £500,000 for his services two summers ago.
Gueye's transfer away from Aberdeen is expected to be confirmed imminently, but it is unclear how much Thelin, often tight-lipped about such matters, will say about the deal to the media – though he will likely discuss the frontman's contribution during the gaffer's year at Pittodrie.