Aberdeen boss Derek McInnes confirmed he expects Niall McGinn to confirm if he is returning to Pittodrie before the transfer window opens on January 1.

Northern Ireland international McGinn is a free agent having terminated his contract with South Korean side Gwangju last month.

Talking at the Dons 114th AGM at Pittodrie, McInnes confirmed he has been in discussions with McGinn and expects an answer from the winger about a Pittodrie return soon.

McGinn is also being tracked by Hibs and Hearts.

The 30-year-old was recently a guest of Hibs boss Neil Lennon in the 2-2 draw with Celtic.

McGinn rejected the offer of a new Dons contract to move on at the end of last season.

McInnes admits he has a fight on his hands to secure McGinn’s return, but is quietly confident it could happen.

He said: “It is on-going and Niall is keen to make a decision on his future in the next week to 10 days or so.

“Niall is someone who I have kept in touch with anyway – always with the intention if it hadn’t worked out for him in South Korea.

“We have kept in touch and it is on-going.

“Like all good players, which Niall is, there is more than one club interested so we have got to accept that.

“If Niall gives us the encouragement and sees coming back to Aberdeen as the right decision for him then myself and the board have discussed it at length that we would like to be a club that would welcome him back.”

McGinn made more than 200 appearances for the Dons during five years at Pittodrie and scored 69 goals.

He was Aberdeen’s leading goal-scorer in the 2012-13 season with 22 goals.

McGinn won the League Cup in 2014 with the Dons and has been capped more than 50 times for his country.

McInnes tried to secure McGinn on a new deal last season, but the winger opted to move on.

However, he failed to make his expected impact in South Korea and left Gwangju after just four months.

McInnes said: “Niall is someone I really enjoyed working with and I am sure he is someone the fans enjoyed watching.

“His consistent performances played a huge part in the last five years in some of the better results for us.”

Hibs boss Lennon recently confirmed his interest in signing McGinn and invited him to watch his side in action. The winger is also coveted by Hearts boss Craig Levein.

McInnes said: “Niall would be a fantastic addition in January if we can get that one done. We are confident but we are not there yet as there are still two or three clubs interested.

“So we have a fight on our hands to make sure that he comes here.”