It’s almost two years to the day since Aberdeen signed Sam Cosgrove. Take a trip down memory lane by virtue of a few fans forums and the full lexicon of the social media generation is on show following the discovery that the Dandies had signed a striker who had one career goal to his name in 33 appearances. There was the a la mode “Get in the sea” from one disgruntled supporter, an “off you pop” from another and that all-time SMS classic “haha” made an appearance, too.

Fast forward a couple of years and Aberdeen fans are not quite so dismissive. Today Cosgrove is being linked with moves to the Championship in England, MLS and – somewhat improbably – Serie A. If the latter connection seems a little far fetched it speaks volumes about how far the 23-year-old striker has come in a short period of time.

It is a measure of his progress that Aberdeen could demand £5m for him, an unprecedented figure for a player who earned the moniker “Jayden Stockley’s stunt double” in his earliest days at Pittodrie. For the record, Stockley – a physical if somewhat limited front man in his Aberdeen days – scored six times in 42 games for the club while Cosgrove already has the same number of goals for the Dons as the latter made appearances.

The speed of his ascent has surprised some, including Fraser Fyvie, the former Aberdeen midfielder who crossed paths briefly with Cosgrove during their time together at Wigan Athletic.

“I was a bit surprised when they signed him from Carlisle,” says Fyvie. “When he first came up I went and saw a few games and I thought he’s very raw but since then his goal tally has spoken for itself but now he has started to bring people into play. He’s not as rash, he’s getting into better positions where he should be as a striker. His hold-up play is getting better and better and it can only improve. He’s still young.”

Fyvie, now leading Cove Rangers’ League 2 title charge after battling back from two successive ACL injuries, has words of advice about what Cosgrove should do next.

“So far, Aberdeen has been a good move for him. Is it the case that maybe another season at Aberdeen would do him the world of good? I think potentially he’s got the ability to step up but I think there are areas of his game that he could improve. You look at Jayden Stockley. He went down to Exeter and got a move to Preston and [Cosgrove] has scored more goals than him.”

Cosgrove and his team-mates travel to St Mirren this afternoon hoping to

narrow the gap to Motherwell in third. Fyvie was a co-commentator on RedTV last midweek as Stephen Robinson’s side left Pittodrie with all three points. He believes Aberdeen are in transition and will require some new players if they are to remain as competitive as they have been in the upper echelons of the Premiership.

“When Derek took over he recruited really well,” adds Fyvie. “He had the likes of Ryan Jack, Kenny McLean, Jonny Hayes, Niall McGinn and Adam Rooney. Since then there’s been a turnover and that happens to most clubs. Dylan McGeouch came in, [Craig] Bryson came in and it hasn’t quite happened for him in terms of injuries but he’s in that period where they are not going to be where they were a couple of seasons ago. McGeouch is a great signing for them and hopefully the team gel with a few additions here and there.”

Aberdeen agreed a fee of £75,000 with St Johnstone on Friday night for another new player, the winger Matthew Kennedy after a protracted transfer wrangle over the past month. Fyvie thinks Kennedy, with whom he played for Scotland at age-grade level, represents a return to the way Aberdeen found success in the recent past.

“He’s very direct. He was at Cardiff, has a good CV and did well at St Johnstone. He was definitely one of their better players and will be raring to go for Aberdeen.

“I think they have missed that pace that they had before they lost Jonny Hayes – and Gary Mackay-Steven last year – and [Ryan] Christie went back to Celtic. They have not really replaced those types in my opinion and I know from watching Derek’s style of play over the last few years that’s how he likes to play.”

Fyvie, who was born in

Aberdeen, says he has found a new lease of life in his native north-east since leaving

Dundee United last summer.

“I’m loving it at Cove. It’s great. I overcame my

second ACL and it took me nine months to get back. I didn’t feel good for a further six months. I’m at home and I’m enjoying playing with my mates every week. Don’t get me wrong I’d love to still be full-time football but sometimes you’ve got to

accept where you are. As a kid I loved playing football, and that’s the feeling I’ve got again.”