Aberdeen midfielder Ferguson to join Bologna for £3m… and Hibs star Josh Doig is set for Verona

Aberdeen midfielder Lewis Ferguson is poised to seal a stunning £3million move to Serie A side Bologna.

And Hibs defender Josh Doig will increase the Scots contingent plying their trade in Italy’s top tier by completing his own £3m switch to Hellas Verona early next week.

Ferguson will fly to northern Italy on Saturday to undergo a medical and put pen to paper. Previously the subject of strong interest from Millwall and Italian pair Lecce and Cagliari, the 22-year-old received a glowing report on life at Bologna after putting in a call to Scotland team-mate Aaron Hickey, who is set to leave the club for Premier League Brentford for £18m.

Aberdeen have already sold right-back Calvin Ramsay to Liverpool for £4.5m plus add-ons, and they drove another hard bargain before agreeing to part company with Ferguson.

Hibs will also rake in a substantial fee for 20-year-old Doig, a target for Verona for some months.

The Scotland Under-21s cap will initially go for £3m, with the fee likely to increase after add-ons and a sell-on clause.

Doig will undergo a medical with the side who finished ninth in Serie A last season and will sit out Hibs’ opening game against Clyde in the Premier Sports Cup.

The 22-year-old received a glowing report on life at Bologna from Aaron Hickey

Ferguson, meanwhile, will be missing when Aberdeen make the short trip to Peterhead tomorrow.

Addressing the midfielder’s absence from a midweek pre-season 7-1 friendly win over Brechin, boss Jim Goodwin said: ‘With Lewis we are well aware of the speculation and you guys are as well. I don’t want to pull the wool over anybody’s eyes or anything.

‘But Lewis was away on international duty and has trained with the group. He took a bad knock in one of those games for Scotland and we have just been trying to protect him and make sure we don’t ask too much of him too early on. It’s as simple as that really.’

Hibs defender Josh Doig will complete £3m switch to Hellas Verona next week

Goodwin has already made six new signings in forward Bojan Miovski, midfielder Ylber Ramadani, goalkeeper Kelle Roos and defenders Liam Scales, Jayden Richardson and Anthony Stewart.

Promising more new faces after naming centre-half Stewart, 29 as his new club captain, the Irishman admitted he was frustrated that post-Brexit red tape has delayed the involvement of Miovski and Ramadani in match action.

‘The Ramadani thing dragged on a little longer than we anticipated,’ he said. ‘We expected Ylber to be joining us at our training camp in Spain. Unfortunately, that didn’t happen. His visa has been completed now and he has his passport back from the Home Office, so we look forward to him joining the group for training on Monday as well.

‘It shows the complexity of the challenges we face now in recruiting from outwith the EU because of this Brexit thing. It’s been an absolute disaster as far as I’m concerned.

‘We’re feeling the brunt of it in on a football front. We’re identifying great targets and going through all the necessary red tape but, unfortunately, you’re relying on different departments. I’d like to think Miovski will be a lot quicker than the Ramadani one. I’m hopeful, best case probably ten days, worst case, two weeks. I hope.’

Confirming the decision to hand the captain’s armband to ex-Wycombe defender Stewart, Goodwin said: ‘Anthony led the team out against Brechin the other night. He is a great character around the place and is naturally a leader anyway.’