It's been a tough week for Aberdeen fans as they saw the disappointment of their Scottish Cup exit compounded by goalkeeper Danny Ward's return to Liverpool.

Anfield boss Jurgen Klopp described the decision to recall the 22-year-old from his Pittodrie loan spell as easy and its not hard to see why.

After 29 appearances with the Dons, the Welshman could be involved in tonight's Premier League clash with league leaders Arsenal.

Ward's numbers during his brief Scottish adventure highlight a confident keeper with maturity beyond his years.

In addition to his ten clean sheets in 21 league matches, at 78% Ward holds the highest save percentage of any Scottish Premiership shot stopper with Partick Thistle's Tomas Cerny and Craig Gordon of Celtic coming close on 75% and 73% respectively.

As part of Derek McInnes' well-drilled defensive unit, Ward has only conceded 18 Premiership goals this term while making an average of three saves per 90 minutes.

The record for longest stretch without conceding in the Premiership so far is held by Partick Thistle's Tomas Cerny at 401 minutes but Ward wasn't far behind with a run of 387 minutes unbeaten. That put him clear of Celtic's Gordon (355), Hearts' Neil Alexander (348), Hamilton's Michael McGovern (282) and Ross County's Scott Fox (238).

Aberdeen's strong start to the campaign, where they conceded three goals in eight league games, owed much to Ward's ability to mould and organise his back four including fellow summer arrivals Paul Quinn and Graeme Shinnie.

It appears little coincidence that the Dons' woes at the back came during a period of defensive reshuffling with a switch in the centre back pairing as well as Mark Reynolds return from injury.

Ward continued to shine despite a dreadful October for the Dons, producing a string of stunning saves to deny Motherwell victory at Pittodrie.

With Adam Bogdan enduring a night to forget against Exeter, Ward could earn himself an Anfield bow between the sticks against Paul Tisdale's men. And should Klopp continue with his policy of fielding his reserve keeper in League Cup ties then the Wrexham-born goalie could line up at Wembley in March's final.

The youngster thanked Aberdeen fans for their support from Kilmarnock to Kazakhstan in a classy farewell message. And while McInnes begins the tough search for an adequate replacement, should Ward continue his Scottish Premiership form then his career journey could become even more remarkable.