Caley Thistle on brink of fresh loan deals for Aberdeen duo

Caley Thistle are understood to be close to securing Aberdeen duo Alfie Bavidge and Alfie Stewart on loan for the club’s Championship return.

Forward Bavidge, 20, and attacking midfielder Alfie Stewart, 19, were key members of Scott Kellacher’s League One-winning Inverness team last season.

When Stephen Robinson became Aberdeen manager in March, the Aberdeen youth academy graduates had already been told their contracts would not be renewed when they expired this month.

However, noting the red-hot form of Bavidge and Stewart at Inverness, Robinson stuck to his early assessment and last week handed them one-year contract extensions, with a view to extending those deals further.

Inverness remained keen on pairing

Inverness have remained in the conversation with Aberdeen, stressing they would love to have both players back at the Sarens PSG Stadium now that the club are in the Championship.

It now looks likely that the loan deals could be rubber-stamped in the coming days.

Bavidge, son of former ICT striker Martin, was Caley Thistle’s top scorer with 20 goals last term, with 10 of those goals coming in League One, while Stewart scored eight goals in all competitions.

If the agreements go through as expected in the coming days, it’s a massive boost for Kellacher, who has let 19-goal Chanka Zimba go, while club record scorer Billy Mckay, who is also assistant boss, is considering a focus more on coaching than playing next season.

Championship games next for duo

Bavidge, who has been on loan with Kelty Hearts and Ayr United, scored six goals in 10 matches for Inverness in the 2024-2025 season before suffering a hamstring injury.

However, he was back with a bang last season as his goal haul helped fire Inverness to the title, despite starting on -5 points due to being in administration two years ago.

Stewart, who had a loan spell at Peterhead in 2024, saw his initial six-month deal from Aberdeen to ICT extended in January and both players were key men.

Robinson said last week: “The next few weeks will help determine the best pathway.

“That could mean remaining with us as part of the first-team squad, or it could mean loan to the Championship where they continue to play regularly at that level, gain valuable experience and keep progressing towards our first team.”

It now seems that having the duo playing for an ambitious Inverness side in the Championship has been deemed the best way to further progress their developments.

[Source: Press and Journal]