Aberdeen teenager Timothy Akindileni has joined English Championship team Queens Park Rangers for an unknown price.

The 17-year-old joins the Dons’ youth system in 2023, despite “prolonged attempts” from the club to continue his development in the northeast.

The large adolescent centre-back, who stands 6’4″, has now stated his excitement about his new task south of the border, with his transfer subject to international clearance.

He told the QPR club website, “I’m over the moon. Other clubs expressed interest, but QPR stood out to me because of the outstanding development opportunities for young players.

“You can see it in all of the young players who are making their way to the first team, and that is what drew me to this club.

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“The whole goal of joining an academy is to work your way up to the first team, which motivates you to work harder every day.

“Coming down to England is a big step, but I believe it’s an opportunity you can’t miss. It’s a fantastic challenge for me, and I’m really looking forward to it.”

QPR CEO Christian Nourry added: “Timmy’s arrival today demonstrates the club’s continued focus on acquiring players of his age and profile.”

“He is a highly promising talent with the physical attributes to establish himself as a left-footed centre defence at the professional level.

“On top of that, he is a young man with maturity and focus above his years, which we hope will make him extremely coachable. On behalf of the entire club, I cordially greet him.

Aberdeen Director of Football Steven Gunn expressed sorrow at losing a promising youngster for whom the club had great ambitions, but recognised that keeping Akindileni would be a huge struggle.

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“We are, of course, disappointed to be losing Timi as we had high hopes for him,” according to him.

“We made repeated attempts to persuade him to stay with Aberdeen, but, as has been the case with many Scottish clubs in recent years, we are finding it increasingly difficult to retain our young players.

“We have negotiated a significant deal with QPR that also provides future protection should Timi continue to develop into the player we hoped he could be.”

Akindileni, a former Bucksburn Academy kid, was given a trial in the summer of 2023 and went on to score four goals in 47 appearances for Aberdeen.

He went on to help the U18s win the Club Academy Scotland U18 League and reach the SFA Youth Cup final, where he scored at Hampden.