Atlanta United president Darren Eales hopes Jon Gallagher’s successful loan at Aberdeen can be the first of several player-exchanges between the clubs.

The Irishman’s loan is set to be extended until the end of the season following his impressive spell at Pittodrie.

Eales, whose appointment as a director to the board at Pittodrie was confirmed on Monday at the club’s annual meeting, is representing Atlanta United’s interest in the Dons following the announcement of the partnership between the MLS side and Aberdeen last month.

He said: “It is really interesting with a player as you get a real sense of what a club is about when a player goes on loan.

“It has been right from day one in terms of how he has been treated by the club, the fans and the media.

“It has been nothing but first class and that is important as he is someone now who is an advocate of the process.

“He was given an opportunity to get the playing time and he has made the most of it.

“All credit to Aberdeen, the club and the fans for welcoming him and it is an example of something that has worked really well for ourselves and Aberdeen.

“We want to get the deal tied up and it makes sense to continue it to the end of the season.”

Eales believes Gallagher’s loan shows what can be achieved in the new collaboration between the clubs and says the fledgling relationship is steadily growing stronger with each passing week.

He said: “The player market is global now and we feel it is a market where there will be synergies between the clubs.

“At Atlanta United we will get the connections from Aberdeen’s scouting system but likewise if we have a sense of what Derek McInnes is looking for and he becomes available but isn’t available for Atlanta United because our roster is full then we can help with the process.

“As the relationship develops you will see more of those peripheral benefits.

“There will be joint scouting and sharing of knowledge, which will help when it comes to signing players at both clubs.

“On the technical side, we had a group out a couple of weeks ago. We have a youth tournament that, because of the contacts at Aberdeen, our youth team will be able to play in next summer.

“There are also possibilities at a higher level where there could be opportunities for youth players at Aberdeen coming out to play for our second team under Stephen Glass.

“If there are pathway opportunities there we will look to explore and we’ll identify those opportunities, which go both ways as the relationship grows and we get to know each other.”