ABERDEEN HAVE CONFIRMED the signing of Irish winger Jonny Hayes on a two-year contract.
The 32-year-old Ireland international returns for a second spell at Pittodrie, having left Aberdeen in 2017 to begin a three-year spell at Celtic.
While making 68 appearances for the Glasgow giants, Hayes won three Scottish Premiership titles, two League Cups and one Scottish Cup.
According to a press release issued this morning by Aberdeen, the Dubliner has made “a significant financial sacrifice” to return to the club following his recent release by Celtic.
“Bringing Jonny back to the club is fantastic,” said Aberdeen manager Derek McInnes. “In light of the current financial circumstances as a result of the pandemic, this has only been possible due to Jonny being out of contract and his real desire to rejoin Aberdeen.
“Jonny’s determination and willingness to return here is illustrated by his generous gesture to make it happen. He has never hidden his love for Aberdeen, and indeed I know his family enjoyed living in the north-east, so it is no surprise to me that he was prepared to make a financial sacrifice in order to return.
“We sold Jonny to Celtic three years ago and he was a key player in our team, but he returns undoubtedly a better player for his experiences and will provide excellent cover in the left sided area of the pitch following Greg Leigh’s departure. I can’t wait to see him perform in our team once again.”
Having joined Aberdeen from Inverness Caledonian Thistle in 2012, Hayes went on to help the club to win the League Cup two years later.
During his previous spell with the Dons, he was named Player of the Season in 2016 and was twice included in the SFA Premiership Team of the Year.
Hayes has won four senior caps for the Republic of Ireland, the most recent of which came in the June 2017 friendly win against Uruguay at the Aviva Stadium.
He said: “It is exciting to be an Aberdeen player again. The club has made real progress since I have been away, particularly with the building of Cormack Park which looks brilliant. It was a major attraction in returning and as soon as the manager phoned and said Aberdeen were interested it was always my preferred choice.
“We were then able to come to an agreement to make the deal happen which was suitable for all parties. I appreciate it is a tough time for the club given the current climate with Covid-19 but everyone wanted to make it happen. I was more than happy to play my part by foregoing some financial gain and I am just thankful it was concluded positively.
“I want to come back and win some winners medals. I think everyone associated with Aberdeen deserves it. There have been a few near misses with some of the recent finals, but it would be very nice to come back and win some trophies.”
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