Bojan Miovski has shown he possesses the required attributes to be Aberdeen’s talisman this season.
The North Macedonian international netted a brace in the Dons’ 4-1 win against St Mirren at the weekend to take his tally to three goals in three games since arriving from MTK Budapest.
It’s been an impressive start to life at Pittodrie for Miovski and he’s shown he’s got the ability to push towards the 20-goal mark for the Reds this term.
His hunger to score goals and his instincts inside the box already stand out.
Miovski has also assumed the responsibility of being Aberdeen’s penalty taker.
Over the last couple of years, Lewis Ferguson has been excellent in that role and Miovski has taken that on and started very well.
The 23-year-old’s movement is also very good, he’s a hard player for defenders to pin down.
He’s happy to play on the shoulder and run in behind defenders and like all good goalscorers he seems to come alive inside the box.
Miovski’s second goal against St Mirren is evidence of that.
The Saints defenders were hesitant and their goalkeeper didn’t take control of the situation but Miovski still had to read the situation and make the correct movement to capitalise.
It was a decent ball in from Jonny Hayes but Miovski’s anticipation and sharpness made it a better ball.
The instinct to be in the right place at the right time is the measure of a goalscorer and Miovski showed that.
Physicality
Alongside those attributes, he is a physical presence and if the Dons need to play longer balls he can deal with that.
Sometimes you need to be more direct and play to a focal point at the top end of the pitch and Miovski provides a presence and an aerial threat.
There’s also still more to come from him, because he’s not yet fully up to speed.
Like most of the signings this summer, the early signs look positive. Head of recruitment Darren Mowbray has done a lot of work to try to identify signings and in Miovski’s case it looks like that work has paid off.
Saints success
Looking back on Saturday’s game, it was a really positive performance by the Dons, particularly given the changes that have been made this summer.
When you have a squad overhaul you have to allow for time for the new recruits to gel.
But that seems to have happened quite quickly which is the pleasing thing for Aberdeen.
The Reds deserved to win against St Mirren and they did so in fine fashion.
OK Declan Gallagher got himself sent off in the first half, but Aberdeen made sure they took advantage.
If the Reds want to have a good season in the Premiership, they need to be winning the majority of games against the likes of St Mirren and Motherwell, St Johnstone and Livingston (who are their next three opponents).
Every game at Pittodrie should be viewed as a winnable game for the Dons.
If Aberdeen want to be up there in the European places challenging what Hearts did last season, then these games are really important.
These are games where you are expecting to pick up maximum points, if you want to have a successful league season, you have to take care of these games.
Goodwin has spoken about the importance of these games if you want to be successful in the league.
Good home form also encourages supporters, there were more than 14,000 in attendance on Saturday and it seems like the Red Army are responding to the encouraging signs on the pitch.
Forward thinking Clarkson can be asset
Leighton Clarkson enjoyed a dream Aberdeen debut after completing his loan move from Liverpool on Saturday morning.
The 20-year-old scored a sensational goal against St Mirren after coming on as an early replacement for the injured Hayden Coulson.
In terms of what Clarkson can bring to the Dons, his vision and forward passing impressed me.
The Reds struggled last season – particularly at home – to open teams up and create chances.
When you watch Clarkson he is always looking to play forward, he wasn’t negative in any way.
Having someone in midfield with that forward-thinking ability could be important for the Dons.
Square passes and back passes are OK to keep possession, but at some stage you need someone to play forward and be positive.
The signs are that Clarkson will offer that.
Teams will come to Pittodrie and sit in, we’ll see it in the next couple of weeks with Motherwell and Livingston visiting the Granite City.
Having someone in midfield who is always looking for the pass that will hurt the opposition. Of course, it might not be on all the time, but having the quality to execute it could be pivotal for Aberdeen.
Ylber Ramadani has already established himself in midfield as an important player.
He is the anchor in front of the back four and when in possession he’s the release valve, because generally he’s always available to take the ball if the forward pass isn’t on.
With someone in beside him like Clarkson who can feed the forwards, then you would hope Aberdeen can create plenty of chances this season.
Defensive cover still important
There are three weeks left of the transfer window and defensive cover is what Aberdeen need to try to add.
Assessing the squad Jim Goodwin has now built, it’s at the back where the Dons are lightest.
In defence, Anthony Stewart and Liam Scales appear to the first choice centre-back pairing.
David Bates is still at Pittodrie, but it remains to be seen if that will still be the case after window closes, and Ross McCrorie can also cover centre-back or right-back.
But on-loan Middlesbrough left-back Hayden Coulson sustained a nasty looking injury against St Mirren at the weekend and Jack MacKenzie remains on the sidelines.
Depth in midfield doesn’t appear to an issue, with McCrorie, Ylber Ramadani, Leighton Clarkson, Jonny Hayes, Matty Kennedy, Vicente Besuijen, Callum Roberts, Dante Polvara and also Connor Barron still to come back from injury.
If Christian Ramirez stays, then the Dons have plenty of attacking options along with Bojan Miovski, Luis Lopes and Marley Watkins.
You will get injuries over the course of a season, and depth in all areas is required.
I don’t expect there to be many more signings made by Aberdeen, but some more defensive cover is what the Dons should be trying to add.
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