Aberdeen have contingency plans in place should they lose any of their star players.
Interest is growing in strikers Bojan Miovski and Luis “Duk” Lopes after their impressive start to the season in Scotland, but Dons boss Jim Goodwin insists the club is ready to replace any players should they be lured away from Pittodrie.
He said: “We’ve got one of the top strikers in the country attracting interest.
“It’s the world we live in. We all need to be realistic about the level we can go to financially.
“We have committed long-term contracts to a number of players who came in during the summer, but we have to be realistic about their ambitions, too.
“We’ve got contingency plans in place.
“We try to predict what could come in January or the summer.
“If a really good number comes across our table which we think is good, we have a list of alternatives we can go for – it’s really important that money is reinvested in the team and the structure.”
Pittodrie best place for young talent
It is not just current first team players who are attracting interest at Pittodrie.
Emerging young talent is also drawing admirers with Wolves, Brighton, Everton and Sheffield United all tracking 15-year-old striker Lewis Pirie.
Pirie will be free to sign his first professional contract when he turns 16 next month, and Goodwin hopes any young player will see the benefit of remaining at Pittodrie in preference of a move elsewhere.
He said: “The young lads have been doing well and because of that the best lads are always going to attract attention.
“All of the lads we believe have a future at Aberdeen, there is dialogue – including Pirie.
“If I was a parent looking at clubs, I don’t think there are many with the recent track record we have in the last decade of bringing through our own.
“I don’t like naming names, but Pirie has had a taste of first-team football and we’ve put on the table what we think of him to him and his parents.
“If you look at the other clubs, including the Premier League, there are not many with the number of graduates we have.
“Young Pirie is one we believe has a bright future and hopefully he and his family will see that is at Aberdeen.”
Dons ready for weekend return to action
Meanwhile, the Dons boss is gearing up for his side’s return to competitive action following the World Cup break this weekend.
Goodwin knows his side face a tough return to action with a Pittodrie double-header against champions Celtic and Rangers followed by two tough trips either side of Christmas.
But he is determined to return from the five-week break with a bang.
The Aberdeen manager said: “We believe if we can the tactics and gameplan right we can give ourselves a good chance.
“Celtic and Rangers are the two best teams in the country right now, but at Pittodrie we’re capable of beating anybody.
“It couldn’t be a tougher start after the break than Celtic and Rangers then away to St Mirren and Kilmarnock.
“I wouldn’t expect Celtic and Rangers to expect an easy ride when they come to Pittodrie.
“The home support have been outstanding and really made a difference.
“We need to make sure we’re in the right frame of mind and we’re all looking forward to getting back playing and hopefully we will come out on top.”
