Dons do deal for Dale defender

Rory McArdle has signed a pre-contract agreement with Aberdeen, making him Mark McGhee's first summer signing at Pittodrie. And the 23-year-old believes the Dons have "massive potential" as he bids to make an impact in the SPL.The defender is contracted to Rochdale until the end of June and will become an Aberdeen player on July 1."I'll be here in July and I'm looking forward to coming in, getting my head down for pre-season and seeing what Scottish football is about," McArdle told RedTV."I've been in England and I'm only 23 so I'm looking to learn quite a bit."I came up and had a look around and he (McGhee) took me around the city."When you see the ground and look at the history of the club, I think there is massive potential here."Asked what sorted of player Dons fans can expect, he added: "Just a hard-working one, more than anything. I always give 100% if and when I play."Now that he has agreed his move to the SPL, the centre-half will join up with Nigel Worthington's Northern Ireland squad next week for friendlies against Turkey and Chile.McArdle is looking forward to meeting with Scotland-based team-mates Stephen Craigan and Andrew Little.He said: "Once we get on the trip, I'll have a chat with them. Hopefully they might give me a bit of advice."McArdle signed for Rochdale on a 30-month contract in January 2007 following two loan spells at Spotland while on the books at Sheffield Wednesday.He helped the Greater Manchester club to a third place finish in League Two, winning promotion for the forthcoming season.

Source: Team_Talk