Calendar An icon of a desk calendar. Cancel An icon of a circle with a diagonal line across. Caret An icon of a block arrow pointing to the right. Email An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of the Facebook "f" mark. Google An icon of the Google "G" mark. Linked In An icon of the Linked In "in" mark. Logout An icon representing logout. Profile An icon that resembles human head and shoulders. Telephone An icon of a traditional telephone receiver. Tick An icon of a tick mark. Is Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes. Is Not Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes with a diagonal line through it. Pause Icon A two-lined pause icon for stopping interactions. Quote Mark A opening quote mark. Quote Mark A closing quote mark. Arrow An icon of an arrow. Folder An icon of a paper folder. Breaking An icon of an exclamation mark on a circular background. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Caret An icon of a caret arrow. Clock An icon of a clock face. Close An icon of the an X shape. Close Icon An icon used to represent where to interact to collapse or dismiss a component Comment An icon of a speech bubble. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Ellipsis An icon of 3 horizontal dots. Envelope An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Home An icon of a house. Instagram An icon of the Instagram logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. Magnifying Glass An icon of a magnifying glass. Search Icon A magnifying glass icon that is used to represent the function of searching. Menu An icon of 3 horizontal lines. Hamburger Menu Icon An icon used to represent a collapsed menu. Next An icon of an arrow pointing to the right. Notice An explanation mark centred inside a circle. Previous An icon of an arrow pointing to the left. Rating An icon of a star. Tag An icon of a tag. Twitter An icon of the Twitter logo. Video Camera An icon of a video camera shape. Speech Bubble Icon A icon displaying a speech bubble WhatsApp An icon of the WhatsApp logo. Information An icon of an information logo. Plus A mathematical 'plus' symbol. Duration An icon indicating Time. Success Tick An icon of a green tick. Success Tick Timeout An icon of a greyed out success tick. Loading Spinner An icon of a loading spinner. Facebook Messenger An icon of the facebook messenger app logo. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Facebook Messenger An icon of the Twitter app logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. WhatsApp Messenger An icon of the Whatsapp messenger app logo. Email An icon of an mail envelope. Copy link A decentered black square over a white square.

Exclusive: Chris Sutton warns sale of ‘irreplaceable’ Bojan Miovski will hurt Aberdeen

Aberdeen sold North Macedonia international Miovski to Spanish La Liga club Girona for a club record fee.

Aberdeen's Bojan Miovski tearfully says goodbye to the fans after the 3-1 defeat of St Mirren. Image: SNS
Aberdeen's Bojan Miovski tearfully says goodbye to the fans after the 3-1 defeat of St Mirren. Image: SNS

The sale of “irreplaceable” striker Bojan Miovski to Girona will hurt Aberdeen this season, warns Chris Sutton.

Goal hero Miovski transferred to the Spanish La Liga outfit earlier this month in what is a record fee for the Dons.

Miovski’s move landed the Dons £4.5million up-front but could ultimately be worth up to £9m with achievable add-ons and a sell-on clause.

Scottish football pundit and former Celtic striker Sutton rates Miovski as an “outstanding player” and insists his exit will be an issue for Aberdeen boss Jimmy Thelin.

Miovski netted 44 goals in two seasons for Aberdeen before his transfer to Girona.

Sutton hailed the striker’s return as “phenomenal” and reckons his clinical finishing could be missed in “big moments” this season.

An emotional Bojan Miovski of Aberdeen waves goodbye to the Aberdeen fans after the 3-1 defeat of St Mirren. Image: Shutterstock
An emotional Bojan Miovski of Aberdeen waves goodbye to the Aberdeen fans after the 3-1 defeat of St Mirren. Image: Shutterstock.

He said: “Selling their star star striker will be an enormous issue for Aberdeen.

“Losing Miovski will hurt them.

“Aberdeen got a good fee for Miovski and from Jimmy Thelin’s point of view it is OK having that money.

“But Miovski is irreplaceable as his numbers over the last couple of seasons are phenomenal.

“Miovski is going to be a big miss for Aberdeen and that is going to be an issue for Thelin.

“In those big moments in games you need players like Miovski capable of taking opportunities.

“Ester Sokler has taken on the mantle now but he still has some way to go.

“That is not a criticism at all as he is still a developing player.

“Aberdeen fans and the manager will want Sokler to develop into the next Miovski.”

Bojan Miovski is pictured as he departs to join Girona at Aberdeen International Airport, on August 14, 2024. Image: SNS
Bojan Miovski is pictured as he departs to join Girona at Aberdeen International Airport. Image: SNS

‘A classy player and brilliant finisher’

Miovski transferred to Girona on a four-year deal and is in contention to make his debut against Atletico Madrid on Sunday.

Aberdeen rejected three previous offers from Girona before finally accepting a figure that matched their valuation of the striker.

Aberdeen's Bojan Miovski bids farewell to the fans after the 3-1 defeat of St Mirren.
Aberdeen’s Bojan Miovski bids farewell to the fans after the 3-1 victory against St Mirren. Image: Shutterstock.

Sutton, who moved from Chelsea to Celtic in a £6m deal in 2000, said: “I’m a huge fan of Miovski, and not just his goal-scoring.

“I’ve seen a lot of Miovski and he is a classy player and brilliant finisher.

“He has really good all-round attributes as he can also hold the ball up, link the play and is great in the air.

“Miovski is still relatively young at 25 so there is development there which will clearly come.

“I was at Aberdeen’s game against St Johnstone (2-1 win) and some of Miovski’s touches were fantastic.

“He had not started any other game for Aberdeen this season before then so that was him half-cooked.

“But Miovski was still a class apart from everyone else on the pitch.”

Bojan Miovski in action for the Dons at St Johnstone. Image: Shutterstock.

‘I wonder if in this market Aberdeen could have held out for more’

The deal to transfer Miovski to Girona surpasses the previous club record of £6.5m package Aberdeen reached in 2022 with the sale of Calvin Ramsay to Liverpool.

Miovski will play in the Champions League with Girona as the Spanish club finished third in La Liga last season, behind only Real Madrid and Barcelona.

Aberdeen signed Miovski in a £535,000 deal from Hungarian club MTK Budapest in the summer of 2022.

 Aberdeen's Bojan Miovski is subbed on to say an emotional farewell to fans against St Mirren. Image: SNS
Aberdeen’s Bojan Miovski is subbed on to say an emotional farewell to fans against St Mirren. Image: SNS

Sutton said: “I’m a big lover of Scottish football.

“But you can’t get way from it that Scottish clubs are development clubs for bigger, more financially powerful ones cross Europe.

“In many aspects it is the perfect situation for Aberdeen with Miovski.

“They didn’t pay that much for him but he has developed through pretty turbulent times at Aberdeen.

“Then he got the big move.

“However, I wonder if in this particular market Aberdeen could have held out for more.”

Bojan Miovski celebrates on his knees after making it 1-0 Aberdeen during a Viaplay Cup semi-final against Hibs.
Bojan Miovski celebrates making it 1-0 Aberdeen during a Viaplay Cup semi-final against Hibs. Image: SNS.

Aberdeen must give Thelin time

Aberdeen manager Thelin recently admitted he had been planning for the expected transfer of Miovski this summer.

Miovski only started one of the six games this season while still at the club with Ester Sokler, who has scored four goals, given the nod.

Swede Thelin has delivered a 100% start to his Pittodrie career having won seven games out of seven.

Aberdeen players and Aberdeen manager Jimmy Thelin applaud the fans after the Premier Sports Cup defeat of Queens Park at Pittodrie. Image: Shuttestock
Aberdeen players and Aberdeen manager Jimmy Thelin applaud the fans after the Premier Sports Cup defeat of Queens Park at Pittodrie. Image: Shuttestock

Sutton said: “Thelin has had the perfect start in many respects but will know there is still a lot of work still to do.

“Everything seems to have gone up a level or two under Thelin.

“In recent seasons there hasn’t been enough stability at Aberdeen.

“With all that has gone on with Aberdeen chopping and changing managers in recent seasons there needs to be patience..

“We are in a day and age when everyone wants instant success.

“There’s little point bringing Thelin in if there isn’t going to be patience.”

Aberdeen manager Jimmy Thelin (L) and assistant Peter Leven during the 3-1 defeat of St Mirren. Image: SNS
Aberdeen manager Jimmy Thelin (L) and assistant Peter Leven during the 3-1 defeat of St Mirren. Image: SNS

Aberdeen ‘should target top six’

Thelin has led Aberdeen to the Premier Sports Cup quarter-final and two wins from two in the Premiership.

The Swede has added six permanent signings so far during the summer transfer window.

What should be the target for Thelin and Aberdeen this season?

Aberdeen manager Jimmy Thelin applauds supporters after the 6-0 defeat of Dumbarton. Image: Shutterstock
Aberdeen manager Jimmy Thelin applauds supporters after the 6-0 victory against Dumbarton. Image: Shutterstock

Sutton said: “The start has been brilliant, but in truth a top six finish.

“The club’s fans may think that is slightly negative but it is about building for Aberdeen.

“It isn’t about turbulence which there has been in recent seasons.

“Thelin has shown in his career he is is a builder of clubs.

“So Aberdeen need to build slowly and trust him and trust in the process.

“Thelin needs time and will get that to build.

“But it doesn’t help when the star striker is sold.”

Chris Sutton was talking on behalf of Instant Withdrawal Casino.

Conversation