Fletcher Boyd will leave to join EPL side Aston Villa’s Academy, pending the outcome of the FIFA minor’s application.

The 17-year-old, who has played 13 times for the Dons’ first team, scoring twice, will move south to Birmingham for a significant undisclosed fee.

The Portsoy-born forward joined Aberdeen back in 2017 and made his top-team debut against Hibernian in May 2024.

“Fletcher is not one we had planned or wanted to sell at this time, but we’ve had to take this approach based on the circumstances we found ourselves in,” said Dons Director of Football Steven Gunn.

“It was made very clear to us that Fletcher wished to explore this opportunity and that signing any contract extension beyond the less than two years remaining on his current agreement was going to be very unlikely.

“Therefore, we felt that now was the optimal time to trade him to not only maximise our value in the short term, but also to ensure there is significant potential upside for AFC in the future should Fletcher develop the way we all hope he does.

“We have already explained publicly the huge challenges faced not only by Aberdeen, but almost all Scottish clubs in this area. We also explained the subsequent adjustments we’ve made to our transition phase strategy as a result.

“We will closely monitor the outcomes of those changes in the months and years ahead.”

Everyone at Aberdeen FC would like to thank Fletcher for his time and effort whilst at the Dons and wish him every success in his future career in England.