Aberdeen are hoping to beat Sunderland to the signing of Ross County defender Jason Naismith, according to the Sunderland Echo.
The Scottish Premier League side are hoping to beat the Black Cats to the signing of the 23-year-old right-back. League One duo Burton Albion and Peterborough United are also believed to be keen on signing him.
Naismith has been the subject of strong interest from Sunderland. Their new boss, Jack Ross, is looking for potential signings and is hoping to build a squad capable of promotion back to the Championship.
They will now have to face strong competition from Aberdeen for his signature. Derek McInnes’s side will be playing in the Europa League next season and are hoping to use this as a selling point to Naismith.
However, Sunderland also have an advantage over others in the race for Naismith as Jack Ross managed him at St Mirren.
Naismith, who has represented Scotland at Under-21 level, started his career at St Mirren and had loan spells at Greenock Morton and Cowdenbeath. He went onto play over 100 games for the Buddies and played in both the Scottish Premier League and Championship for them.
He was snapped up by Ross County in January 2017 and has proven to be a decent signing for them. They could now land a tidy profit for him this summer, with Sunderland and Aberdeen likely destinations.
