Former boss Jim Goodwin reckons Aberdeen will pocket millions for Duk now the striker is closing in on the 20-goal target set for him by the axed gaffer.
Goodwin, sacked by the Dons in January, signed Cape Verde international Duk from Portuguese giants Benfica last season.
He insists securing Duk was “great business” by Aberdeen.
On Duk’s arrival at Pittodrie, Goodwin says he gave the striker a 20-goal target – which he is now just two goals short of hitting.
The 23-year-old is Aberdeen’s top scorer with 18 goals in all competitions this season.
That red-hot form has alerted Premier League Everton, and the Goodison Park club are understood to have sent a scout to Dingwall to watch Duk, where he scored in the 1-0 defeat of Ross County.
Championship leaders Burnley, who have secured promotion to the top flight, are also tracking Duk, along with Blackburn Rovers and Hull City.
Italian Serie A clubs Bologna and Spezia are closely monitoring the Pittodrie goal hero, who is contracted to the Dons until summer 2025.
Jim Goodwin: Duk ‘must be worth millions’
Duk recently said Benfica would land as much as 50% of any future transfer fee Aberdeen would receive for him.
Goodwin said: “He must be worth millions to Aberdeen now.
“Twenty goals is the target we set Duk and Bojan Miovski and I’m delighted for the pair of them.
“Darren (Mowbray, Aberdeen’s head of recruitment) spotted Duk playing in a reserve game for Benfica, and he put him on the list of strikers for last summer.
“We needed two and felt (Bojan) Miovski and Duk were the two best options available.
“It’s common sense from Benfica’s point of view because he wasn’t going to play for them and the Scottish Premiership is a great place for them to market him as well.
“Obviously there’s a substantial amount that needs to go to Benfica if he progresses.
“But either way it’s great business for Aberdeen.
“So it’s win-win for everyone.”
‘Where he goes will be up to Duk’
Duk recently confirmed he is happy at Aberdeen and has no intention of moving on during the summer transfer window.
Aberdeen are also desperate to retain their top scorer to help the bid for success next season.
Duk was named Premiership Player of the Month in March and has netted six times in the last five Premiership games.
Goodwin said: “I’m happy for him on a personal level, as a young player coming here to adapt to Scottish football.
“And if Duk gets to the 20-goal mark, the target I set in the summer, there will be a hell of a lot of clubs domestically and on the European front targeting him.
“I know they are targeting him already, because I have had conversations with his agent.
“And he’s thanked us for bringing him to the country.
“Where he goes will be up to Duk.”
‘I take pride in the recruitment’
Duk’s goals have been key to Aberdeen’s rise to third in the Premiership table.
Prolific partnership Duk and Miovski (17) have scored 35 goals between then in all competitions this season.
Goodwin insists he had the final say on signing Duk, who arrived as part of a major squad overhaul last season.
During the summer window, Goodwin signed 14 players as Dons boss and spent in excess of £1.5 million in transfer fees.
Goodwin, now Dundee United manager. insists he is proud of his transfer business with the Dons.
He said his pitch to transfer targets was that they could develop at Aberdeen and potentially move on to “bigger things”.
Goodwin said: “I take a pride in the recruitment we did.
“Pretty much every player that’s there bar Angus MacDonald is someone we brought to the club.
“Kelle Roos has come back in and been brilliant.
“(Ylber) Ramadani has been very consistent, so it’s not just Duk, although he’s the one grabbing all the headlines just now.
“We told them to come to Aberdeen, develop and – if the chance comes along – move to bigger things.
“Darren Mowbray has a crucial role to play in recruitment up there and I have learned plenty from him.
“I was very hands-on at St Mirren.
“Going into Aberdeen, I wanted to have that involvement because you always worry going to these bigger clubs you lose a bit of control.
“But thankfully that wasn’t the case.
“I was assured I’d have the final say on comings and goings.”
‘I am happy to see Aberdeen doing so well’
Goodwin was sacked in late January following a run of defeats which left the Reds in the Premiership bottom six.
He was manager for the worst result in the club’s 120-year history, a 1-0 Scottish Cup defeat to sixth tier Darvel.
That cup humiliation came either side of heavy losses at Hearts (5-0) and Hibs (6-0).
The Dons board axed Goodwin, 41, immediately after the loss at Easter Road with Barry Robson installed as interim manager.
Under Robson’s guidance, the Reds have racked Aberdeen’s longest winning run since 2015.
Goodwin’s first game in charge of Dundee United was against Aberdeen last month – with the Dons winning 3-1 at Tannadice.
Goodwin said he was targeted by missiles from among the travelling Dons support during that game, including coins, pies and a cup of juice.
He said one of the coins hit him on the head.
Now in the midst of a battle to avoid relegation with Dundee United, Goodwin insists he holds no bitterness towards the Dons.
And he is pleased to see the players he signed hitting form at Aberdeen.
He said: “There is no bitterness on my part, I’m happy to see Aberdeen doing so well.
“There was a lot of criticism that came my way, but that’s football.
“I’m pleased for that group of players and the people at Aberdeen.”
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