Dons trio to leave Pittodrie

Young: Leaving Pittodrie on a free transfer

Aberdeen have revealed Derek Young, David McNamee and Mark Howard will leave the club at the end of the season.

Dons boss Craig Brown has started his rebuilding plans at Pittodrie by deciding not to offer the trio new deals.

Loan players Nikola Vujadinovic, Nick Blackman and Myles Anderson will return to their parent clubs at the end of the season, but Brown is keen to agree a deal with Norwich for defender Steven Smith.

The Dons have also offered new deals to Sone Aluko, Chris Maguire and Jamie Langfield who are all out of contract at the end of the season.

Brown was particularly sad to release midfield stalwart Young, who has made 248 appearances for the Dons over two spells with the club.

"Derek's commitment and willingness to play in a variety of positions for the team made him an invaluable asset for us this season," Brown told the club's official website.

"It was a very hard decision for us to make but by allowing Derek to leave it will enable us to free up space to recruit new players. It is in no way a reflection of his efforts for the club, which have been exemplary.

"Mark Howard understandably wants to play every week and he was clearly the No.2 goalkeeper here. David McNamee has been bedevilled by injury but he made a great contribution when we were struggling at full-back."