Aberdeen ‘join race for prolific youth striker who had interest from Celtic during 51-goal season’

ABERDEEN have reportedly expressed interest in signing a prolific young striker who was on trial at Celtic this year.

The Irish teenage sensation has several clubs on his trail – including Celtic and Aberdeen – after scoring 51 goals in all competitions last season.

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Shay Reid, 16, topped the Northern Ireland U20 Premiership Development League goal-scoring charts, scoring 23 goals in 32 appearances.

The Cliftonville prospect enjoyed an even more impressive campaign down an age group with the U18s too as he found the net 21 times in 25 outings.

His sensational form has unsurprisingly put him on the map, with several clubs from across the UK keeping tabs on his development.

Reid had two trial periods at Lennoxtown at the beginning of the year but Celtic didn’t make a decision on the 16-year-old.

He has plenty of options elsewhere though, should Celtic decline to make a swoop, as Premiership rivals Aberdeen are believed to be interested along with a host of other clubs.

The Belfast News Letter states he has also caught the attention of EFL Championship sides Preston North End and Wrexham, the newly-promoted Welsh-based club owned by Hollywood stars Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney.

Meanwhile, Aberdeen are also planning a swoop for another striker to add extra firepower to the first team for next season.

Jimmy Thelin is set to lose Kevin Nisbet after his loan stint from Millwall ended, while Oday Dabbagh’s future at his parent club Charleroi is currently unclear.

Reports state, however, that Thelin has his eyes on another target to fill the void in attack.

The Dons are reportedly interested in signing Ronan Hale from Ross County following their relegation to the Championship.

He scored 18 goals for the Staggies last season but failed to prevent them from the drop.

The 26-year-old still has two years left on his deal at Dingwall after only joining the club last summer but he is expected to move on in the coming weeks.

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