Aberdeen are in control of any transfer move for striker Bojan Miovski as their leading goalscorer is signed until summer 2026.
French top-flight club Stade de Reims are reportedly considering a £4 million bid in January for the North Macedonian international.
There is no surprise clubs are starting to look at Miovski as he is the joint-top scorer in the Scottish Premiership with Rangers’ Antonio Colak.
I don’t think it will be too long before clubs start targeting Miovski’s strike partner Luis “Duk” Lopes either – as with success comes the drawback that you then shine a light on players.
Miovski and Duk will be players other clubs will look at.
However, the most important aspect is that the ball is in Aberdeen’s court.
Miovski has a long-term deal and Duk is also signed until summer 2025.
Having them tied to long contracts is one way to potentially repel any clubs who are interested in them.
However, if Aberdeen feel any offer is good enough and makes business sense then that is a different matter. But it is the Dons who control that.
With head of recruitment Darren Mowbray, the Dons appointed someone who clearly has an eye for unearthing a player from countries which have maybe been ignored.
9⃣ 🇲🇰
⚽ An 11th league goal of the season so far for Bojan.#StandFree | @bojanmiovskii pic.twitter.com/rPtlKzOA2M
— Aberdeen FC (@AberdeenFC) November 13, 2022
Miovski was signed in the summer from Hungarian club MTK Budapest, as was Albanian midfielder Ylber Ramadani.
Miovski as he is a really intelligent player, who is hard for central defenders to pin down.
His goal record with Aberdeen has been excellent and his performances have been top level.
Other clubs are not going to ignore that as they have their own scouting system and their ears to the ground.
The reported interest in Miovski is a compliment to the work Aberdeen’s recruitment team are doing.
Goodwin will be pleased with start to first full season as Aberdeen manager — and I feel optimistic for the rest of the season
As the Premiership goes into a five-week winter shutdown for the World Cup, it is a great time to assess the campaign so far.
The Premiership table tells us that at this moment Aberdeen are the third-best team in the country.
Aberdeen also have a Premier Sports Cup semi-final against Rangers at Hampden in January to look forward.
I think that is an impressive start for any manager going into his first full season at a club.
It is a brilliant result for the manager, his mindset, the club and the recruitment process they went through.
It normally takes a bit of time for a manager to bed players in when there is such a major rebuild as Aberdeen underwent in the summer.
At times there have been signs of the team being disjointed.
However, when you undertake such a revolution with so many players brought in, you should be afforded time to get it right.
Goodwin deserves time to get it right
In fairness, Aberdeen have not really needed much time as real quality was signed in the summer.
There have been finances available for signings, but Aberdeen are a big club and have to set their sights high.
To do that the manager needs support and he has that from Chairman Dave Cormack and the board of directors.
Manager Goodwin can go into the winter break feeling good the Dons secured not only a win, but a clean sheet, in defeating Dundee United 1-0.
There had been questions over the lack of shut-outs Aberdeen had been able to register.
That problem overlapped into last season as well, so it was something that needed addressed.
Aberdeen secured a different type of win against Dundee United.
A disciplined performance from Aberdeen
It wasn’t a free-flowing performance with lots of opportunities where the fans went home excited, as they were treated to lots of goals.
This time the fans went home excited because they had witnessed a disciplined performance.
It was a performance where the defence were solid and never looked at any time like they were going to concede.
Keeping it tight at the back will be a vital part in delivering a successful campaign.
There were areas in Goodwin’s rebuilt team that needed work such as the defensive solidity.
I came away from the win against Dundee United feeling that had been addressed.
That optimism I had at the start of the season is very much still with me.
Atlanta training camp no ‘jolly’
Aberdeen’s week-long training camp in the United States is not a jolly, it is a vital part of the season.
The Dons have jetted out to Atlanta and some people may look on that as a jolly.
It isn’t as the time in the US will serve many purposes for Jim Goodwin, the club and his players.
During my time as a player, I experienced many camps such as this. And they offer a great opportunity for team bonding.
✈️ Checked-in at @ABZ_Airport.
Next stop 🇺🇸 pic.twitter.com/eaT2HqcPtI
— Aberdeen FC (@AberdeenFC) November 14, 2022
Obviously there will be training in Atlanta as well and they also have a friendly arranged for tomorrow.
There already looks to be good team spirit within the Aberdeen camp and a week in Atlanta can add to that.
It is about getting players together in a 24/7 environment where they can get to know each other better.
They will do bonding on the park, as well as off the park. It is an important trip for the squad to really get to know each other better.
Let’s not forget this is a new squad with 11 signings secured in the summer.
If you are close off the park, then you all work together on the park to be successful.
Aberdeen were able to jet across the Atlantic on a high as they will hold third place during the five-week winter break.
I look at ventures such as the training camp in Atlanta as really important.
And I think manager Jim Goodwin and his squad will get a lot out of it.
World Cup disrupts domestic season
The World Cup in Qatar is unique and is in a country where conditions will be unusual for most of the teams playing out there.
Controversy also surrounds Qatar in terms of human rights.
At the time when Qatar was announced as 2022 World Cup hosts, we were all scratching our heads wondering why Fifa would take it there.
The decision has been made and the tournament kicks off on Sunday.
However, I don’t want to see winter World Cups occur regularly as it disrupts the domestic scene.
It is what it is, though, and all the best teams in the world are coming together. We can look forward to a feast of football.
The big disappointment is Scotland will not be at the World Cup.
Scotland just couldn’t overcome that hurdle when reaching the play-offs.
The Scots losing 3-1 to Ukraine in the World Cup play-off semi-final at Hampden in June was bitterly disappointing.
A lot of money has gone into the preparation and the stadiums will be magnificent.
It is a wonderful opportunity for players to perform at that level.
I was fortunate to play at a World Cup on two occasions.
If I hadn’t played in a World Cup, I would have looked back on my career thinking there was something missing.
Once the tournament starts, I think the football will be the focus and let’s hope it is a successful World Cup.
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