Connor Ronan has revealed he rejected Aberdeen in 2023 because he was still chasing his Premier League dream at Wolves. The midfielder eventually joined the Dons this summer from Colorado Rapids, three years after Jim Goodwin first tried to sign him.
Premier League carrot
Ronan, who worked under Goodwin at St Mirren, explained that Wolves were going through a period of uncertainty in the squad and were still in the Premier League. He said: "I was kind of being dangled that carrot a little bit of maybe being around it again in the Premier League and I was kind of holding on to that."
The 28-year-old spent six months training with the Premier League squad and got a few minutes on the pitch, but he admits it didn't work out as he would have wanted in terms of game time.
Talks with Goodwin
Ronan had travelled to Cormack Park for talks with Goodwin, but the move fell through. He recalled: "Jim brought me up to St Mirren, and then obviously he left to come up here. I had Stephen for, I can't remember how many games, but maybe five or six games and then obviously returned back to Wolves, and that's when I had the conversations with Jim about potentially coming back up here."
After several loan spells at Wolves, Ronan moved to Colorado Rapids in 2023 and spent three seasons in Major League Soccer before returning to Scotland.
Instant impact at Aberdeen
Ronan has made an instant impact at Aberdeen, bringing creativity to the team. Stephen Robinson, who succeeded Goodwin at St Mirren and is now at Aberdeen, recently said his footballing intelligence is "three or four steps ahead" of others at times.
Ronan admitted it always felt like a chance to come back to Aberdeen was in the back of his mind. He said: "My contract was coming to an end in the US, and this came up again, but a lot more serious than maybe previous conversations and we just kind of jumped at it. It seemed like just the right fit all round, the right time for me and my family to get back over here."
