Lewis Ferguson to Bologna - incredible Aberdeen talisman stat, profile, backed for Serie A success

Across Lewis Ferguson's four seasons at Aberdeen he was on the bench just once. It caught the eye on the club’s announcement of his move to Bologna.

The statement confirming the transfer to Serie A for an undisclosed fee, noted of 169 appearances for the club, 168 starts.

It was a statistic which prompted a double take. Not that this writer doesn’t have ultimate faith in the Dons’ media team, it just seemed too impressive to be true.

But true it is and a good quiz question it does make. August 2021, a League Cup defeat to Raith Rovers. Stephen Glass had to call on his midfield talisman to try win the game.

When Ferguson was available for Aberdeen, he played. Whether it was under Derek McInnes, Glass, that Raith game aside, or Jim Goodwin. They saw the value in the 22-year-old. So do Bologna.

It is a fascinating move, one much more interesting and appealing one than the English Championship where Millwall were very keen to the point they placed a £2million offer.

"I think it is a very brave move for Lewis," Goodwin said. “I admire him for that. There are a lot of young lads out there that sometimes lack the courage to move away from home where there is a different language and different culture. I give him a big pat on the back for that.

"It is something I always wanted to try to do as a player myself. I tried to get to Greece one year, tried to get to Austria and even as far as Australia. I feel at that young age, when you are a single man, the opportunities out there to travel are far easier. I think it will be a brilliant move for Lewis and said to him 'you go over there, give it your best shot. If you don't fancy it after 12 months you can always come back home'.”

Lewis Ferguson only started on the bench for Aberdeen once. (Photo by Paul Devlin / SNS Group)

The Ferguson profile

It is hard to see someone so young and talented, but who plays the game as if possessing the experience of someone ten years older, not fancying it after 12 months. His positional versatility will be well suited to Bologna’s midfield three.

Their manager Siniša Mihajlović, with his free-kick artistry, would have adored playing alongside Ferguson and his ability to win free-kicks. No player was fouled more across the past four seasons in the Premiership than the midfielder.

The curious aspect of the move is to see if Ferguson will develop into a particular midfield profile. His all-round attributes, on the ball, intelligence, combativeness, goal threat has seen him utilised as a No.6, a No.8 and a No.10.

Doing so, or solidifying his Professor Gadget midfield profile, will set him up for even greater success.

"It is a big world out there and to go and learn a different language and play a different style of football would be brilliant for Lewis' career because it would get him used to playing a different style of football, hopefully help him to continue his development," Goodwin said.

"The young boy Hickey had great success out there and got his move back to the Premier League. Young Henderson who was at Celtic has been very successful out there as well.

"There's no reason why Lewis Ferguson can't have similar success.”