Aberdeen manager Jimmy Thelin has emphasised that Bojan Miovski, who continues to attract significant transfer interest, remains in his plans for the upcoming Scottish Premiership match against St Mirren this weekend.
The 25-year-old striker has been at the centre of "intense" rumours throughout the week, yet he was seen at the Dons' Cormack Park training facility on Friday, appearing cheerful and engaging with his teammates.
La Liga side, Girona, who are owned by the City Football Group, are currently negotiating with Aberdeen regarding a potential transfer, and the North Macedonian international is believed to be keen on making the switch to Spain.
While there are other interested parties including Genoa and Southampton, none have met Aberdeen's asking price, which remains at around £6million.
So, as long as that situation persists, Thelin won't hesitate to include him in his starting XI.
Miovski completed his first 90 minutes of the season during his teams 2-1 away victory over St Johnstone on Monday night after being mostly kept in cold storage throughout the Dons' Premier Sports Cup Group stage campaign.
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On Miovski playing any part of Sunday's match at Pittodrie, Thelin stated: “It has been a bit more intense this week with the speculation, but he is still an Aberdeen player and he is still training with us.
"We went through the set plays and he was there. So far, we focus on day-by-day and he is an Aberdeen player. He is focusing on that and that is important for us also.”
Aberdeen made their fifth summer acquisition on Thursday as midfielder Ante Palaversa arrived from Troyes.
Thelin acknowledged that the one-time Manchester City player is desperate to make his debut for his new club, but with the 24-year-old suffering multiple injury lay-offs in recent years, the Dons gaffer is reluctant to throw him onto the pitch too soon.
That's despite Aberdeen being short on numbers within their midfield due to long-term injuries to Dante Polvara and Leighton Clarkson.
“If you ask him he will say he is ready but I think it is a bit early," the Aberdeen boss explained.
"We need to be careful. I think he will be ready quite soon but maybe not ready for the weekend. He has a spirit. He has a way to get back in a good way in his career. He has had some setbacks in the last years.
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“The hunger is there and that is really important when you sign a player and you can see it in his eyes, how much he wants to play for Aberdeen and how hard he wants to work to achieve something.
“That is the first part and in profile he is more like a box-to-box midfielder who links the play. He has a different profile to Graeme (Shinnie) and Sivert (Heltne Nilsen). It is good to have the other tools inside our game.”
In other news, Aberdeen are reportedly closing in on adding another new recruit to their ranks.
HJK Helsinki winger, Topi Keskinen, is high on the clubs radar and it's thought that a deal worth around £800,000 has been agreed between the two parties.
Keskinen, 21, would provide Thelin with another option out wide following the departures of Jonny Hayes and Junior Hoilett at the end of the previous campaign.
Asked if there was any truth in the transfer links, the Swede said: "I'm never going to comment on another team's player.
"It is not respectful. There is a lot of noise but I can't say anything about that."
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