Aberdeen’s resolve to retain Bojan Miovki is likely to be tested during the January transfer window because every player ultimately has a price.
The winter window is now open and the Pittodrie board will be braced for interest, and potential bids, for goal hero Miovski.
Celtic and Southampton have monitored the striker with the view to a potential January bid.
Clubs in Germany, Spain and Italy are also understood to be interested in Miovski who has netted 15 goals this season.
Aberdeen are in no rush to sell Miovski and aim to still have the striker at Pittodrie beyond January 31 to spearhead the bid to finish third in the Premiership.
At the club’s recent annual meeting, chief executive Alan Burrows reiterated the Dons were not aiming to sell Miovski in January.
However, a club could yet recreate Don Corleone from the Godfather by making an offer Aberdeen “can’t refuse”.
That is the reality of Aberdeen’s situation because the Reds have a player trading model where they buy exciting, promising talent and then sell them on at a significant profit.
Selling Miovski for the club’s valuation, or above, is merely the next natural step in a model that has worked very effectively in recent seasons.
When he exits Pittodrie, whether this month, this summer or beyond, Miovski will be the absolute embodiment of that transfer philosophy – if he keeps scoring.
Celtic would have to smash the transfer fee between Scottish clubs to have any chance of landing the striker.
That record fee stands at the £4.4million paid by Celtic to Hibs for Scott Brown in 2007.
However, even if Celtic were willing to stump up in excess of £5m that does not necessarily mean a deal would be done.
Any deal has to be right for the club and player.
And Aberdeen would be reluctant to sell to a Scottish club.
The optics of strengthening a Premiership rival, particularly one they haven’t beaten since May 2018, are not good.
Crucially Miovski may want to test himself in a higher league having already made an impact in the Scottish Premiership.
Chief executive Burrows recently said Miovski is good enough to play in any of the big five leagues in Europe – England, Italy, Spain, Germany or France.
I agree.
Miovski will surely be looking at what friend and former Aberdeen team-mate Ylber Ramadani is achieving in Italy.
Both Miovski and Ramadani were signed by the Dons from Hungarian club MTK Budapest in summer 2022.
Miovski was snapped up for £535,000 with Ramadani arriving in a £100,000 deal.
Ramadani was sold to Lecce for £1.1m this summer and has made an immediate impact in Serie A.
To such an extent Italian giants Inter Milan, last season’s beaten Champions League finalists, are considering launching a big money January bid to sign Ramadani.
When Miovski does exit Pittodrie, ideally not this month, surely it will be to a major league in the hope his career can be propelled on a similar trajectory to Ramadani.
Miovski, like Ramadani, looks to be worth at least 10 times what Aberdeen paid for him.
Whether that rises to 15 or 20 times remains to be seen but he is well on course to smash the 20-goal mark this term.
Miovski has also proven he can score at European level this season and is also an established international.
That does not come cheap.
Boss Barry Robson recently confirmed Aberdeen will try to sign Miovski, contracted until summer 2026, on an extended contract.
Of course, even if he does sign a new deal, it is no more solid a guarantee Miovski will not move on.
But a longer contract ramps up his value even more, which is at least £5m now.
Repeat of 2023 winning run required
Aberdeen will have to deliver a repeat of the second half of last season to ignite hopes of finishing third in the Premiership again.
The Dons are languishing eighth in the table during the ongoing top flight winter shut-down.
Barry Robson’s side are a massive 14 points behind third-placed Hearts.
Crucially the Reds hold three games in hand on the Tynecastle club, but those have to be won.
Last season Robson inherited a Dons squad languishing in the bottom six when initially drafted in as interim boss following Jim Goodwin’s dismissal.
Aberdeen were seventh when Goodwin was sacked, nine points behind third-placed Hearts – although the Reds had played a game more.
There is a sense of déjà vu during the winter break.
Robson oversaw a seven-game Premiership winning streak in the second half of last season to rocket up the table and secure a third-placed finish.
They will need similar form this season to overtake Hearts.
It is a big ask, particularly for an Aberdeen side who have been so inconsistent in the Premiership so far this season.
However, there have been signs the Dons can hit high levels domestically, having beaten Rangers and Hearts in the league this season.
They will have to consistently deliver those levels, and cut out the slumps, to have any hope of overhauling Hearts.
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