The 19-year-old returned to the SPL side on a three-year-deal for an undisclosed fee, having previously enjoyed a successful loan spell with the Dons.

Aluko was tipped for big things at St Andrews but McLeish believes the move was in the best interests of the player.

He told the club's official website: "We have a glut of strikers.

"Sone did the pre-season with us and did okay but I didn't think he showed enough to go ahead of anybody. Therefore I didn't feel it would be fair to have him hanging around not playing, especially now we're not in the reserve league.

"I thought the best options was for him to go back out on loan, but then Aberdeen came in and offered a transfer fee for him. We hope that he does a great job for them and we've also got the protection of a sell-on fee."