Deadline day latest: Aberdeen REJECT bids for Duk and Connor Barron; Dons tried for Mattie Pollock loan AND permanent deal

A Dutch club made a bid of £1.75million for Duk which was rejected by the Dons.

By Danny Law

February 1 2024, 10:06 am

Aberdeen's Duk celebrates scoring to make it 1-0 against PAOK in Greece. Image: SNS.

Aberdeen have rejected deadline day bids for striker Duk and midfielder Connor Barron.

Cape Verde international Duk was absent from Tuesday’s 1-1 draw against Dundee and has been linked with Spanish side Leganes.

The Press and Journal understands the Dons have rejected a £1.75million bid from a top-flight club in the Netherlands for the 23-year-old, who moved to Aberdeen from Benfica B in July 2022.

A bid of around the same figure from Leganes was also turned down.

It is understood Benfica would be due a percentage – possibly as high as 50% – of any transfer fee if Duk completes a move away from Pittodrie.

Duk, who is under contract until the summer of 2025, was named Aberdeen’s player of the year and players’ player of the year last season and the bids received by the Dons so far have not been close to their valuation of the player.

Duk celebrates after scoring to make it 1-0 against Eintracht Frankfurt. Image: SNS.

The Dons also turned down a £500,000 bid from a club in the English Championship, reportedly Swansea, for midfielder Barron, who is out of contract at the end of the season.

Both Duk and Barron are now set to remain at Pittodrie until the summer and be part of the squad that Barry Robson’s successor inherits.

Centre-midfielder Barron, 21, has started only seven of Aberdeen’s 21 league fixtures this season.

As it stands, the Dons are not anticipating any more departures today.

Aberdeen midfielder Connor Barron in action against Ross County in Dingwall. Image: Shutterstock.

Midfielder Killian Phillips, who joined on loan from Crystal Palace, has been Aberdeen’s only new arrival of the transfer window.

The Republic of Ireland under-21 international joined the Reds on Sunday on a deal until the end of the season.

The Dons hope the box-to-box midfielder will fill the void left by Ylber Ramadani following his move to Italian Serie A side Lecce in the summer.

Permanent deal for Pollok rejected

The Dons were looking to bolster their defensive options for the second half of the campaign following the recent injuries to Slobodan Rubezic and Stefan Gartenmann.

Aberdeen were hoping to bring Watford defender Mattie Pollock back to the club.

The Dons tried to sign the 22-year-old on loan AND also made an attempt to land the player on a permanent deal.

Mattie Pollock is set to remain with Watford for the rest of the season. Image: SNS.

But Watford have decided to keep Pollock at the club for the rest of the season following his impressive display against Southampton in a 1-1 draw in the FA Cup on Sunday.

Earlier this week, the Dons tried to sign Wigan Athletic defender Jason Kerr, however, the former St Johnstone captain is expected to remain with the Latics.

Kerr recently returned to action for English League One Wigan after more than a year out following a serious knee injury, and started their defeat to Stevenage at the weekend.

There has been some positive news for the Dons on the defensive front as Gartenmann is making a quicker than expected recovery from a foot injury and should be available for selection for this weekend’s visit of Celtic.

Meanwhile, Montenegro international Rubezic will not require an operation following the knee injury he sustained in last week’s 1-1 draw with St Johnstone.

He is expected to be on the sidelines for eight to ten weeks.

Aberdeen now look unlikely to bring in a centre-back to bolster their existing options before the window closes – however, it is thought figures at the club feel highly-rated youth academy graduate Jack Milne is ready to stake a claim for a place in the starting XI in the coming weeks.

Or Dadia, Rhys Williams and Vicente Besuijen have all departed during the window with Dadia and Williams returning to their parent clubs, Hapoel Be’er Sheva and Liverpool respectively, following disappointing loan spells.

Besuijen has joined Dutch side FC Emmen on loan for the rest of the season.

Following the emergence of an underlying injury issue, Rhys Williams has returned to Liverpool to continue his rehabilitation for the remainder of the season.

We would like to wish Rhys all the very best in his future career.#PVFC https://t.co/Z2h5Jqyw4H

— Port Vale FC (@OfficialPVFC) February 1, 2024

Liverpool defender Williams had joined Port Vale on loan for the second half of the season but the English League One side confirmed on deadline day that the 22-year-old is going to return to his parent club “following the emergence of an underlying injury issue”.