What does this summer mean for Aberdeen and Kevin Nisbet?
Now the dust is settling after a historic Scottish Cup triumph, Dons fans are only just coming to the realisation they have guaranteed European football until December next season.
With the lucrative finances that brings, does that mean the Pittodrie club should get the cheque book out to make Nisbet’s loan stay from Millwall a permanent one?
Crunching the numbers, it is clear to see why Aberdeen may look to explore that.
Across all competitions this term, the Scotland striker scored 14 goals and provided five assists in 39 games.
Despite a poor run of form through the winter, scoring just once in 12 league games during Aberdeen’s woeful winless run, Nisbet finished the campaign as the Dons’ leading Premiership scorer with 11 league goals, none of which came from the penalty spot.
Predictably, that means the 28-year-old also had the most shots on target for Jimmy Thelin’s side, and his big chance conversion rate of 55% also catches the eye.
But a somewhat underrated quality of Nisbet, even going back to his days at Hibernian, is his chance creation and ability to link play.
This season, only five Premiership forwards registered more assists than the former Dunfermline striker, who also created 23 chances.
Meanwhile, his total goals and assists contribution of 16 is bettered by just six players across the whole division.
Speaking on the BBC’s Scottish Football Podcast, former Premiership striker Rory Loy said: “Nisbet’s had an impact, he’s had some really good moments, he’s also had some spells there where he’s probably not performed to the levels he would like to.
“So I would imagine Aberdeen will have a figure in their head that they’re prepared to pay. The good thing about Nisbet is he’s tried and tested.
“He didn’t pull up trees the full time he was there, but he had some really, really good moments and came into form towards the end of the season.
“So you know you’re getting somebody who’s going to contribute, who can score goals and that’s got to be worth a decent amount of money, but I wouldn’t be absolutely breaking the bank for him.”
Aberdeen fans, has Nisbet done enough to merit a permanent deal at Pittodrie?
