Aberdeen ex transfer chief delighted to see Pape Gueye come good as due diligence on Hampden hero pays off

Daily Record

23-04-2025

Darren Mowbray watched Hampden hero Pape Gueye knock Anderlecht and Club Brugge defenders about and knew he would be perfect for leading the Aberdeen attack. The former Dons head of recruitment was at Hampden on Saturday to watch his old side see off Hearts and to book their place in the Scottish Cup final. Mowbray, who is set to leave his top recruitment role at Southampton , was delighted to see several of the gems he had brought to Aberdeen were still shining. He brought the likes of Bojan Miovski and Ylber Ramadani to Pittodrie and were sold on for million pound fees and the North Macedonian went for a club record sale. Mowbray was delighted to see Gueye play a massive part in the Reds opening goal as his towering header hit the bar, came off Craig Gordon and dropped in the net at Hampden. Mowbray brought the Senegal striker to the attention of Barry Robson in the summer of 2023 because he wanted to bring some strength, power and pace to his Dons frontline. The Dons paid around £500,000 to get him from Belgian side KV Kortrijk. 'He's one that we watched for probably all of that season previously,' Mowbray confirmed. 'We knew Bojan Miovski was going to go sooner or later. 'I just remember Barry wanted some size, power and speed. Pape met the profile of what Barry wanted. 'It's all about profiling what you want to sign and what you need in the team and squad. You then need to go out and find the right profiles. 'The ones who you think will fit and present them to the coach. It is then up to the manager to make his decision. 'We watched Pape most of that season and he'd done well against Club Brugge and Anderlecht and clubs like that. So if you can perform against that level of teams then we felt it should transition to Scottish football.' Gueye's played a big part in the first goal, as did another of Mowbray's finds in Leighton Clarkson, who took the corner. He identified the playmaker who first came up on loan under Jim Goodwin before he signed on a permanent basis from Liverpool. Winger Shayden Morris was another of Jimmy Thelin's Hampden starters. The winger has forced his way into the Aberdeen starting XI in recent weeks and has also made himself a favourite with the Red Army. Jim Goodwin brought him in from Fleetwood Town and Mowbray admitted he was always seen as a longer term project. 'You're buying someone who's got potential,' the talent spotter admitted. 'I didn't expect him when he first signed to go straight in the team and rip it up against Celtic and Rangers. 'You're buying someone that needs coaching but he's got the raw attributes. If you can coach him and get the best out of him then he could do well as we are seeing now.' Jet-heeled 'Shady Mo' came on to the Aberdeen radar because Mowbray had previously looked at him in his previous role at Burnley. He admitted: 'I just liked his attributes. He's lightning quick. Everybody could see that. 'I probably watched him six times when I was at Burnley. I thought he's maybe not at Burnley's level in the Premier League but he could be a very good player. 'I remember one game against Burton Albion he tore his marker to shreds.nSo when Jim was looking for a winger I put Shayden forward. 'For him, when you're that quick and then when you've added the end product, which he seems to be doing this season, then defenders will be scared of you and so will opposition teams. 'If he can isolate himself against a defender then he's going to beat most people, isn't he? 'We are starting to see Shayden fulfil his potential at Aberdeen, which is great to see.' Mowbray joined Aberdeen in 2021 and was there for two years before he was headhunted by Southampton in 2023.