Aberdeen sign 'fantastic emerging talent' Dante Polvara

Aberdeen have agreed a deal to sign American midfielder Dante Polvara, with manager Stephen Glass saying the club has secured a “fantastic” talent.

The 21-year-old will join the Dons straight from US college football, where he won the 2021 MAC Hermann Trophy for the top individual in the game while playing for Georgetown Hoyas.

Polvara, a graduate of New York City FC’s academy, has signed a two-and-a-half-year deal at Pittodrie.

Glass was delighted to have snapped up the highly-regarded player, saying that he was looking forward to seeing the midfielder develop in an Aberdeen shirt.

“Dante is a fantastic emerging talent,” he said. “He chose to go through the college pathway after emerging from the New York City academy alongside Gio Reyna of Borussia Dortmund and Joe Scally of Borussia Monchengladbach.

“He is coming to us at a good age and whilst he could have opted to take the next step in his career in the MLS, we’re delighted he has decided to come to Pittodrie and we look forward to working with Dante to continue his development.

“As a club we’ve been clear in our ambition to be the best developer of talent and we’re committed to creating a pathway for promising young players to our first team. We look forward to seeing Dante progress over the next couple of years”.

Polvara revealed that he had several options to choose from, including a stay in MLS, but felt that Aberdeen gave him the best opportunity to progress.

He said: “When I heard about the interest from Aberdeen I talked with Coach Wiese at Georgetown about the opportunity, but also spoke at length to Aberdeen manager, Stephen Glass, and Christian Ramirez, who also recently moved from the States to Scotland, and it was clear the club has a rich footballing history.

“I had a number of other options, both in the MLS and Europe, but I felt that Aberdeen was the right club for me to learn and develop as a player. It has a clear strategy of investing in young players and providing a visible pathway to enable them to fulfil their potential.

“I can’t wait to get started and meet my new teammates and the Red Army.”