Former Rangers defender David Bates could make his Aberdeen debut in Saturday’s cinch Premiership clash with Motherwell.
Manager Stephen Glass said the 24-year-old – who joined from Hamburg on August 29 – was available after training with the Dons during the international window.
“David has trained with the group and he’s ready to go,” Glass said. “Obviously he’s not played as much football as he would have liked recently or we potentially wouldn’t have been able to get him to be fair.
“It’s a case of getting him up to speed as quickly as we can and as soon as we can get him into the group that’s out there on the pitch he’ll be there. It might come as soon as Saturday, we’ll see.”
Glass gave debuts to Matty Longstaff and Austin Samuels in the 1-1 draw with Ross County before the break while another new face, Marley Watkins, came off the bench.
And with no major departures, the manager said the Dons had come out of the summer with a stronger squad – even despite the long-term knee injury suffered by Andrew Considine.
That gives Glass optimism that the recent dip in form can quickly be arrested.
“I’m pleased with the group that we’ve got and that we’ve managed to add to it rather than have a potential negative,” he said.
“I think anybody looking at it would be in no doubt this group of players is stronger than before the transfer window, with the obvious exception of big Andy – that’s a long-term thing that you can’t control…
“I think players come to clubs like this because they want to compete to get into the team. If it’s easy to get in the team you’re not competing well but we’ve got competition right across the board from the goalkeepers to the centre-forwards.
“If you’re not playing well it might be a little while before the opportunity comes again and you can sense it in training.”
Glass said there had been almost a pre-season feel in the last couple of weeks as new players were integrated while others were away on international duty.
The Dons head to Motherwell looking to end a five-game winless run which included a Europa Conference League defeat by Qarabag.
“The fact that the European adventure came to an end means we go week-to-week with no midweek games in the next period,” Glass added.
“That gives us a real opportunity to work with the team. This past period has not been everything we would have liked with the boys being away with the internationals but we will still be well prepared for this game and the upcoming ones up to Celtic in early October.”
