Aberdeen have confirmed the departure of four first-team players following the conclusion of the Scottish Premiership season.
Striker Marley Watkins and midfielders Connor McLennan, Dean Campbell and Matty Kennedy will all be leaving Pittodrie for pastures new.
Watkins leaves after two spells at Pittodrie. His first was between August and December 2020, where he scored twice in thirteen appearances whilst on loan from Bristol City.
He returned on a permanent basis in the summer of August 2021, penning a two-year contract. He has played a further 52 times in red, scoring four times.
Academy graduate Connor McLennan is also departing for the final time. McLennan joined the Dons aged just eight and progressed through the academy before making his senior debut at McDiarmid Park back in April 2016.
As well as loan spells with Brechin City and St Johnstone, he has gone on to appear over 100 times in red, scoring eight first-team goals.
Another academy graduate, Dean Campbell will also leave this month. Campbell became Aberdeen’s youngest ever player when he made his debut for the Dons against Celtic back in 2017, aged 16 years, 1 month & 23 days.
Since then, the midfielder has featured 75 times for the first team, scoring his only goal against Livingston at Almondvale in 2018.
Dean played a part in Stevenage’s promotion-winning campaign in 2022/23, turning out 14 times for The Boro as they finished runners-up in EFL League Two.
Northern Irish international winger Matty Kennedy arrived on a three-and-a-half-year deal from St Johnstone back in January 2020.
The 28-year-old made 14 Premiership starts last season, taking his overall tally to 85 across four campaigns. He netted on six occasions during those games.
Also departing the club are youngsters Mason Hancock, Timi Fatona and Blessing Oluyemi.
Liam Scales (Celtic), Mattie Pollock (Watford), Graeme Shinnie (Wigan Athletic), Leighton Clarkson (Liverpool), Hayden Coulson (Middlesbrough), Jay Gorter (Ajax), Dilan Markanday (Blackburn Rovers) and Patrik Myslovič (MŠK Žilina) have all returned to their parent clubs.
First-team coach Liam Fox will also leave the club after his short-term contract expired. Fox played a part in the Dons’ strong finish to the 2022/23 season, assisting the management team in the closing stages of the campaign.
However, family circumstances have prevented him from relocating to Aberdeen on a more permanent basis. The club has already begun the process of identifying a replacement.
“I’d like to thank every player, and Liam, for their efforts during their time at the club,” said Aberdeen boss Barry Robson.
“They leave us with our best wishes for the future. We are still having positive discussions with some of the loan players who are departing about the possibility of returning for next season. We’ll see how those progress over the next few weeks.”
