New Aberdeen signing Craig Bryson shrugged off the interest of a Championship club to join the Dons.

Derek McInnes, Aberdeen manager, revealed that the 32-year-old had a stronger offer to stay at Derby and also had an offer from another Championship club, according to a report from The Derby Telegraph.

Bryson, who previously played for Kilmarnock, is an ex-Scotland international and had played for Derby since 2011.

Bryson has signed a pre-contract agreement with Aberdeen,  so he will finish his contract at Derby and officially be an Aberdeen player on July 1.

Speaking about the new signing, McInnes couldn't hide his delight, and spoke about how Bryson's desire to go back to Scotland was the catalyst in the move.

“Craig Bryson, when you look at the out of contract list, right across all the positions, there are not many better if at all," said McInnes.

"We are absolutely delighted we have managed to secure that signature.

"It has all come about pretty quickly. Although I have been speaking to Craig’s agent since January/February, on and off, he let us know that he was willing to come back to Scotland.

"He had a stronger offer to stay at Derby, he had a strong offer from elsewhere in the Championship, which indicates the level of player that we are getting.

"Thankfully it was not about money, it was more about coming back to Scotland. We kept the line of communication open. Craig had a lot to consider and it all moved pretty quickly.

"We have a good relationship with Derby and we wanted to do things properly, so when we got the word that Craig had made his mind up, things moved quickly."

Bryson played 28 times in the league last season and has been a consistent performer in the Championship for nearly a decade. He has notched up 279 games in the Championship.

After finding it more difficult to get in the first team in recent years, McInnes is confident that he has a lot more to give.

"He is a top, top player," he added. "Craig has had a great career but from speaking to him he has so much more he wants to do and he wants to do it in an Aberdeen shirt.

“I want to work with good players, and I am certainly getting a good player. I could not be more impressed with him the short time I have known him.”

The Verdict

It doesn't come as a surprise that another Championship team has tried to sign Bryson - he is an extremely capable and experienced player at this level.

The Aberdeen move is a good one for Bryson. It allows him to play at one of the top clubs in his native country and have a less hectic schedule than in the Championship.

Bryson has been a great servant to this league and has a very impressive goalscoring record. He will be a dangerous player in the SPL and you can imagine him - as ever - chipping in with some important goals.