Forgotten Scotland star can revive own career and benefit others with return to SPFL

When Kevin Nisbet made the move to English football last summer, there were high hopes that the Scotland internationalist could cement himself as one of the country's main strikers.

It would be fair to say, however, that the 27-year-old's time at Millwall has been underwhelming. He only scored five goals in a season punctuated by injury. Nisbet only completed 90 minutes on five occasions in his 29 appearances for the English Championship club and has been unable to establish himself as Neil Harris' regular No 9. A serious hamstring injury at the start of February ruled him out for three months and by the end of the season, he was banished from the first-team squad due to "disciplinary issues". It was an unedifying end to his first year away from Scottish football.

"With Kevin, it’s a disciplinary matter about culture and standards," Harris said back in May when he missed the 1-0 defeat by Swansea. "There’s no bigger problem moving forward. Kevin is a huge part of our football club moving forward. But it wasn’t right to involve him today so I went with the group that I did.”

It was not so long ago that Kevin Nisbet was in the Scotland set-up. | Getty Images

Harris clearly saw a future for Nisbet at Millwall back in the spring, but stories emerged on Monday evening that Aberdeen have targeted him for a move back north, most probably on loan. Millwall spent £2 million last summer to prise him away from Hibs and he is contracted to them until 2026. But so far this season, he has played seven minutes of competitive football as a late sub against Watford and was not even listed in the squad for the weekend defeat by Bristol City.

Such has Nisbet's stock fallen, he was overtaken by Tommy Conway and Lewis Morgan for a place in Scotland's depleted Euro 2024 squad. Given he was in Steve Clarke's pool of players for the European Championships three years ago, it is another example of where Nisbet is right now. His career is in need of a big kick-start.

Aberdeen could well provide that. The Dons have money to spend after selling Bojan Miovski in a deal that could rake in close to £7m and are ambitious under Thelin. Crucially, they need a goalscorer, as Ester Sokler has yet to prove he can be prolific at this level, while Pape Gueye is only just establishing himself at Pittodrie and Peter Ambrose is a new signing. While Aberdeen have won every match so far, there is an acceptance that they need a sharper edge in attack.

Nisbet scored 31 goals across three productive seasons at Hibs, one of which was cut short by a knee injury. He improved his all-round game during a tumultuous spell at Easter Road under three different managers after signing from Dunfermline Athletic and his excellent form towards the end of the 2022/23 campaign drove Hibs into Europe. A composed finisher and strong in the air, he is a proven goalscorer at Premiership level and is the sort of player Aberdeen should be eyeing for their designs of finishing third in the Premiership.

Nisbet impressed during his three seasons at Hibs. | Getty Images

Hibs are also in the market for another centre forward, although it appears at this stage that current head coach David Gray - who knows him very well from his time at Easter Road - is not prepared to rival Aberdeen for a loan. And much depends on what Millwall want to do with Nisbet, with Tom Bradshaw clearly their main man in attack.

Given Scotland's dearth of striking options, an in-form Nisbet would be a welcome tonic for Clarke. It was not so long ago that Nisbet - whose last Scotland appearance came a year ago - was rated higher than Hearts hitman Lawrence Shankland, who featured in all of Scotland's Euro 2024 matches. It is why a move back to Nisbet's sweet spot of Scottish football could benefit multiple parties.