Dominic Ball backs ex-Leyton Orient team-mate Dan Happe for Aberdeen success

Former Aberdeen utility player Dominic Ball says ex-Leyton Orient team-mate Dan Happe’s switch to the Dons is a long-deserved move to a higher level for a player “who is very consistent and who you can rely on”.

Towering English centre-back Happe, 27 – who is 6ft 6in – became Aberdeen’s fourth summer signing last week, penning a two-year contract after rejecting a new deal with boyhood club Orient.

Happe made his Orient debut in 2017, helping the O’s climb back into the English football league in 2019 and then up to League One in 2019.

Alongside ex-Dons midfielder/right-back Ball, he was part of the Orient squad who narrowly missed out on promotion to the Championship last May.

Orient lost to Charlton Athletic in the play-off final at Wembley, with Ball and Happe each coming off the bench in the showpiece.

Tottenham Hotspur youth academy product Ball was loaned to Derek McInnes’ Aberdeen by Rotherham United for both 2017/18 and 2018/19 campaigns, and has also played for the likes of Rangers, Queens Park Rangers and Ipswich Town.

Ball says left-footed defender Happe can make the step up and shine for Aberdeen.

He said: “I think it’s a great move for Happs.

“When I saw it I was buzzing for him.

“It’s a step up for him and he deserves it, because he’s been very consistent now for a number of years now at Leyton Orient, and he was massive for us last year in terms of getting to the play-off final.”

Ball added: “My memory from the 2024/25 season was what a great guy he was and what a great player.

“I actually thought after that season he’d progress up the leagues or a move to somewhere like Aberdeen, which is what he’s done.

“He was always good fun and we enjoyed a very successful season together.”

‘He’ll win his headers, he’ll win his tackles and also has a voice. He commands from the back’

As things stand, Happe could be competing with fellow left-footers, Dutchman Mats Knoester and Irishman Gavin Molloy, for a place in head coach Stephen Robinson’s Aberdeen side.

Ball says Happe’s defensive attributes, vocal leadership and passing inspire confidence in his team-mates.

He said: “As a defensive midfielder, you can take a lot of confidence from playing in front of someone like him, because, like he’s already said, defensively he’s absolutely solid.

“He’ll win his headers, he’ll win his tackles and also has a voice. He commands from the back, which is something I always like from a centre-half.

“He can also play. He’s got a very good left foot and longer range of passing as well, which I think is important to have in the game now.

“On his personality, character, leadership, just as he’s said himself, he’s really easy to talk to.

“He’s a positive, happy guy – a leader, but he probably leads by example.

“But also somebody you can talk to about anything with and just an all-round great guy to be honest.”

Ball: Aberdeen boss Robinson wants hard workers like Happe

Coincidentally, Ball, now 30 and playing for Cambridge United, has played with Happe AND under Aberdeen head coach Robinson – when the Dons boss was Northern Ireland under-21s manager in 2013.

Ball, who earned youth caps for both Northern Ireland and England, believes Happe will be a good match for the demands Robinson – who led the Dons clear of relegation danger following his appointment in March – places on players.

“I think he’ll have a lot of success at Aberdeen,” Ball said. “Aberdeen are going in the right direction under Stephen Robinson, who is a manager I’ve always rated and worked with.

“Stephen appreciates hard workers and committed players, which is what you will get from Happs.

“I think he’s someone who is very consistent and who you can rely on, and you need that as a centre-half.

“I think he’ll do really well.”