Jim Goodwin names two Aberdeen rising stars who could be next Calvin Ramsay as he reveals 'excitement' at new talents

Jim Goodwin has said that Aberdeen are a “great example” of a club who know how to produce their own talent and sell them at a profit.

The Dons sold Calvin Ramsay to Liverpool in a deal worth up to £8 million earlier this summer after the youngster broke into the first team last year. The 18-year-old’s move to Anfield was a club record fee and broke the previous record set by Scott McKenna in 2020 when he moved to Nottingham Forest.

McKenna also came through the Aberdeen youth academy and Goodwin could be set to hand regular game time this season to the next talent to roll off the production line. Jack Milne and Ryan Duncan have impressed the Reds’ manager in pre-season and could follow in the footsteps of Ramsay, Connor Barron and Jack MacKenzie by breaking into the first team.

Goodwin said: “It is very similar to the way we did things at St Mirren during my time there. I gave half a dozen of the kids there their debuts.

“I take a lot of pride in that as a young manager because it is a huge part of the game regardless of what level you are at. For football clubs to be sustainable now they have to be able to bring that level of quality through the academy system. Otherwise it makes the whole investment pointless.

“In fairness to the board of the directors and the chairman they have build a great facility at Cormack Park and Calvin Ramsay has pretty much paid for it off the back of that move a couple of weeks ago which is fantastic. It is a great example to all the other clubs out there of how to do things. We have great academy coaches who are working tirelessly behind the scenes as you would expect.

“As manager I need to make sure that road to the first team is there for them. When they see guys like Calvin, Jack