In-form goal hero Duk is the blueprint for Aberdeen’s recruitment strategy, says boss Jim Goodwin.
Aberdeen racked up three straight wins in a successful week with summer signing Luis Lopes, aka “Duk”, netting in every game.
Goodwin insists signing exciting young talent like Duk and developing them into first team stars, and potential saleable assets, is the Dons’ recruitment strategy.
It is paying off as Duk has rapidly become a fan favourite following his arrival from Benfica this summer on a three-year deal.
Cape Verde international Duk has only started four games since arriving at Pittodrie – and netted in them all.
Secured for a six-figure fee from the Portuguese giants, boss Goodwin believes Duk can reach far higher levels at Pittodrie.
Goodwin said: “We believe if we bring in young players, develop and educate them properly, they will add value and become sellable assets if required.
“Not only that, but they will also add real quality to the team.
“That is the recruitment strategy that I have decided to go with and that we as a club have bought into.
“We also don’t want to block the path of kids coming through the academy either, so we have to be mindful of that.
“Duk was playing for the Benfica B team a lot and this is his first real taste of men’s football, so to speak.
“Many of the players here have a lot of development still to do.
“They haven’t played a lot of senior football, especially at this level.”
Investing in young, exciting talent
During the summer transfer window, Aberdeen invested heavily in emerging young talent that could both make a first team impact and potentially be sold on at a substantial profit.
North Macedonian international striker Bojan Miovski, 23, was secured for £535,000 from Hungarian club MTK Budapest.
Miovski has already netted nine goals this season and is forging a strong partnership with Duk since a switch to a 3-5-2 formation.
Albanian international midfielder Ylber Ramadani, 26, was also secured from MTK Budapest in a £100,000 swoop.
Ramadani has started every game since arriving and is a key player for Goodwin.
Highly-rated former Newcastle United winger Callum Roberts, 25, was secured for £100,000 from Notts County.
Roberts has only featured twice this season having suffered a long-term hamstring injury.
The winger is scheduled to return to action after the Premiership winter break for the World Cup.
Winger Shayden Morris, 20, was signed on a four-year deal from Fleetwood Town for an undisclosed fee, while right-back Jayden Richardson, 22, was signed in a £300,000 deal from Nottingham Forest on a three-year contract.
A goal with every start for Duk
However, it is Duk who has grabbed the headlines, and the goals, in a successful week which highlighted the progress of Goodwin’s new look squad.
Duk netted in the 2-0 Premiership defeat of Hearts at Pittodrie then scored in the 4-1 Premier Sports Cup win over Partick Thistle.
That win set up a Hampden semi-final showdown with Rangers in January.
Duk’s red-hot form continued with the winner in a 2-1 triumph at Motherwell.
The Cape Verde international has started just four of his 15 appearances for the Dons – and scored in every start.
🚲 ⚽
Duk opens the scoring yesterday in Dingwall.#StandFree | #cinchPrem pic.twitter.com/CEPD6EQIe6
— Aberdeen FC (@AberdeenFC) September 4, 2022
Duk ready to complete 90 minutes
Duk has yet to play a full 90 minutes for the Dons and has been substituted during the second half in the games he has started.
Goodwin insists the lack of starts early in his Pittodrie career was because Duk had to work on fitness having arrived after pre-season training.
Now fully match sharp, he expects Duk to not only start but last the entire 90 minutes.
Goodwin said: “Duk was unfortunate when he came in a bit late as we had to work hard on his fitness.
“Graeme Kirk (Head of Sport Science and Fitness) deserves a huge amount of credit for that.
“We feel that, fitness-wise, Duk is now in a place where he can start games and hopefully start completing games soon enough as well.”
Role of MacKenzie in Duk’s winner
Dons striker Duk came through the same Benfica system as Celtic attacker Jota.
Duk scored 11 times in 42 appearances for the Benfica B in Liga Portugal B with Jota scoring nine in 47.
During his time with Benfica’s U23 side, Duk netted 18 times in 41 appearances.
Duk represented Portugal at under-18 and under-19 level, but made his Cape Verde senior debut against Ecuador this summer.
He earned a second cap during last month’s international break when starting a 2-1 friendly away win over Bahrain.
⚽ Duuuuuuuukkkkkkkkkk.
👏 Jack MacKenzie.#StandFree | #cinchPrem pic.twitter.com/xQLzxo2hHX
— Aberdeen FC (@AberdeenFC) October 23, 2022
Goodwin praised the role of left wing-back Jack MacKenzie for his role in Duk’s winning diving header against Motherwell.
He said: “With that goal we worked the ball quickly from the middle of the pitch to the wide area.
“It was a brilliant ball initially from Jack MacKenzie after a one v one against (Paul) McGinn.
“McGinn’s a good, experienced defender who has been involved in the international set-up.
“Jack did a little drop of the shoulder to get half a yard.
“He then put a brilliant ball in for Duk to get the winner.
“It has been a great week as we beat Hearts and won in the quarters (of the League Cup).
“Then we went to an extremely difficult Motherwell venue and got all three points.”
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