New Aberdeen manager Jimmy Thelin faces the prospect of starting his first season in Scotland without prolific goal machine Bojan Miovski.
Elfsborg boss Thelin is set to begin his Dons career on June 3 and one of his initial battles will be the bid to retain the club’s star striker.
And the lack of European football for the Dons in Thelin’s debut campaign could make retaining Miovski tougher.
Miovski has scored 26 goals in all competitions in a Dons team who have woefully underperformed in the Premiership for much of the season.
Imagine how many goals the 24-year-old would have scored if Aberdeen had been firing on all cylinders in the league.
Inevitably, Miovski’s form has not gone unnoticed and Dutch giants Feyenoord are the latest club to target the striker with the view to a potential summer swoop.
Feyenoord can offer Champions League action next season, which will be a huge lure for any player they bid to sign in the summer.
Whether Feyenoord’s interest becomes a concrete bid remains to be seen as their manager Arne Slot is set to move to Liverpool.
Although the Anfield club have not confirmed Slot’s appointment yet, Liverpool have reportedly reached a £9.4 million compensation agreement with Feyenoord.
Whether or not Slot’s exit ends Feyenoord’s interest remains to be seen, but there are clubs across Europe tracking Miovski.
The North Macedonian international is on the radar of clubs in Italy, Germany, Spain and England.
European clubs now know signing players from Aberdeen is not a gamble following the success of Lewis Ferguson and Ylber Ramadani.
Ferguson joined Bologna for a fee of around £3 million in summer 2022 and has been a sensation in the Italian top-flight.
Scotland international Ferguson was recently named the best midfielder in Serie A for the 2023/24 season.
Napoli, Juventus, AC Milan, Lazio and Inter Milan were all credited with interest in Ferguson with the view to a summer bid.
It was reported Napoli were lining up a summer bid of 25m Euros (£21m) for Ferguson.
However, that could be on ice as the midfielder suffered a cruciate ligament injury last month.
Ramadani, sold to Lecce last summer for £1.3m, has also made a major impact in Italy.
Their exploits will have put Aberdeen further on the radar of clubs in Europe.
Bologna are also reportedly tracking Dons midfielder Connor Barron with the view to a summer move.
Miovski is the complete package and brings so much more than goals.
His hold-up play, work-rate and reading of the game are superb.
Despite a prolific season, Miovski has yet to reach his potential.
I have no doubt Miovski could thrive in any of the European big five leagues – England, Italy, Spain, Germany and France.
He is that good.
A major positive for Thelin is that at no point has Miovski, contracted to Aberdeen until summer 2026, ever indicated he wants to leave Pittodrie.
The striker has consistently underlined his love and commitment to the club.
Aberdeen supporters’ hopes were raised when the strip for next season was unveiled, with Miovski one of the models.
Whether that hope is forlorn, we will know by the end of the transfer window.
The reality is Miovski will be sold at some point, even if it is not this summer.
Aberdeen’s model is to buy talented players, develop and play them in the first team for a few seasons, and sell them at a sizeable profit.
It worked with Ferguson and Ramadani (bought from MTK Budapest for £100,000).
And it is working with Miovski, who was signed for a bargain £535,000 from MTK Budapest in 2022.
Retaining Miovski for next season will be key for Thelin.
And if the striker is to exit this summer, it must be for a minimum of £8m with add-on clauses, or £10m – those are not outlandish figures for a proven international and goalscorer.
Aberdeen U18 heroes take a bow
Aberdeen’s triumphant under-18 league-winning heroes indicated they have bright futures in the game with a sensational comeback win over Celtic.
I was fortunate enough to be at Pittodrie on Monday night to witness the young Dons being presented with the Club Academy Scotland Elite Under-18s league trophy.
More than 1,000 Dons fans turned out to pay tribute to the league winners.
Before they were presented with the league trophy, the young Dons treated the Red Army to a thriller which will live long in the memory.
The Dons’ U18s were trailing 2-0 to Celtic in the 85th minute.
However, this Aberdeen team simply refuse to accept defeat – or even a draw.
They fought back from behind to beat Rangers 2-1 last Friday to secure the league title crown, and they dug deep again against Celtic to deliver a momentous comeback.
Findlay Marshall netted from close-range to ignite hope the Reds could salvage something from the match.
And super-sub Joseph Teasdale netted two injury-time goals, including a sensational lobbed winner in the 98th minute, to send the supporters into raptures.
It was the perfect way to end a title-winning campaign.
In claiming the league crown, Aberdeen U18s have also secured qualification for the Uefa Youth League next season.
Teen star Fletcher Boyd, 16, made a sensational first-team debut when scoring in the 4-0 defeat of Hibs, just three days after winning the league title.
There are many more exciting young stars pushing to breakthrough into the first team.
Aberdeen U18's given guard of honour by Celtic at Pittodrie for winning league title. Main Stand packed by Dons fans in support of title winning heroes. @AberdeenFC @CelticFC #aberdeenfc pic.twitter.com/zC0hPL0rQb
— Sean Wallace (@EESeanWallace) May 13, 2024
British title shot on Sutherland’s radar
Aberdeen boxer Dean Sutherland put in a shift to secure the British Boxing Board of Control super-welterweight title with a ninth-round stoppage of Sion Yaxley.
Welshman Yaxley was the defending champion and undefeated prior to facing Sutherland at the Beach Ballroom.
Sutherland delivered a huge win in a bout that was a British title eliminator.
It was the biggest fight of Sutherland’s career and he rose to the challenge.
Conversation