The time was right to quit Birmingham City, says Sone Aluko
Sone Aluko has admitted that the time was right for him to leave St Andrew’s.
Big things were expected of the Academy prospect and England youth regular, but Aluko severed his ties with the club by moving to Aberdeen for £50,000 on transfer deadline day.
The 19-year-old, who spent a successful season-long loan with the Dons in 2007-08, said he was not bitter, just realistic.
"If you look at the Blues squad now compared to the end of last season there’s Quincy, Kevin Phillips, Marcus Bent who have come in," he said.
"There’s a completely different balance to the team, and there are a lot of big names who were not there before.
"I realised that in my position, it was going to be hard to get a game so I had to think about other options.
"I was in the last year of my contract and it would have been easy for me just to sit there and run it down, then go on a free. But I wanted to play, and Aberdeen gave me that opportunity and it made sense to join them.
"I wouldn’t say I have any regrets, I was just disappointed I wasn’t playing and wasn’t able to break into the squad as I had hoped.
"But that happens. It’s not always the fairytale story in football, the local lad joining the club he supports and going on to play for them.
"I still believe I’ve got a bright future, that I can make a career in the game, unfortunately it’s not going to be at Blues."
Aluko didn’t have as good a pre-season as he did a year ago in Germany, when it appeared he had come of age.
Manager Alex McLeish noted: "He did OK, but I didn’t think he showed enough to go ahead of anybody, therefore I didn’t feel it would be fair to have him hanging around not playing, especially now we’re not in the reserve league.
"I thought the best option was for him to go back on loan but there weren’t too many other clubs beating down our door."
Aluko did join Blackpool temporarily, but once Aberdeen boss Jimmy Calderwood offered a permanent deal the decision to exit St Andrew’s was not a tough one to make.
"My pre-season wasn’t as good as last year," winger or forward Aluko admitted. "I had quite high hopes. I came back fitter and stronger after the season I had at Aberdeen, but it just didn’t work out for me."
Aluko signed a three-year deal at Aberdeen and his familiarity with the club should help him.
But he admitted that he was perhaps now under even more pressure as a fully-fledged Don.
"Being there last season influenced the transfer," he said. "I felt I did quite well, I got on with the manager - he was ringing me up all through the summer to see how I was getting on - and the fans took to me.
"So I know what I’ve gone into, but there will be a bit more expected of me now that I’m a full-time first team player.
"I know I’ve got to be more consistent and improve my game. There’s extra pressure, but that’s something I thrive on, I have confidence in my ability."
Aberdeen enjoyed a UEFA Cup run - Aluko scored in a thrilling 2-2 draw at home to Bayern Munich - and reached the Scottish Cup semi-finals.
"The target for us this season is to get back into Europe," Aluko said. "In England, you have to be a top six side to do that, it’s a different story in Scotland."
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