Aberdeen loan striker Kevin Nisbet will be confident he can smash Bojan Miovski’s highest goal return for a season, says defender Nicky Devlin.
Scotland international Nisbet is on a season-long loan from English Championship club Millwall.
Aberdeen beat off competition from clubs in England and Scotland to land Nisbet who moved to Milwall from Hibs in a £2million transfer last summer.
The 27-year-old made his Dons debut just 24 hours after completing the loan move when coming off the bench in Sunday’s 2-0 win against Kilmarnock.
Full-back Devlin knows Nisbet well, having played alongside him at Ayr United – and insists the striker is full of self belief.
Devlin hailed the Scotland cap’s finishing as “second to none”.
And he reckons the loan star will back himself to beat Miovski’s 26-goal return from last season which led to a transfer to Spanish La Liga club Girona.
Devlin said: “Kevin is a confident lad and he will expect to score more goals than Bojan did last season.
“That is the way he is and drives himself.
“If he is able to do it then we will be in a good place.
“I played with Kev before as he came on loan to Ayr when he was a young boy.
“I think I was only 21 at the time. He was 17 or 18.
“Everyone in Scotland knows his finishing is second to none.
“Hopefully if we can create chances then Kev will score goals for us.
“He adds another dimension to the team.”
‘As good as he was for the club, Bojan has now moved on’
Manager Jimmy Thelin secured Nisbet to bolster the attack following the transfer of Miovski for a club record fee.
North Macedonian international Miovski’s move to the Spanish top-flight could bank the Dons as much as £9 million with achievable add-ons and a sell-on.
Right-back Devlin is confident Aberdeen have the firepower to fill the goalscoring void left by Miovski’s exit.
The 30-year-old said: “For us, as a club, it is not about trying to fill Bojan’s shoes.
“As good as he was for the club, Bojan has now moved on.
“We have three other options with Peter (Ambrose), Kevin and Ester (Sokler).
“It is now about them getting the goals between them.
“It is fine if they can score the goals Bojan got.”
The unselfish work of Ester Sokler
Slovenian striker Sokler was in the starting line-up ahead of Miovski for the majority of games this season before last season’s leading scorer moved to Spain.
That was because Thelin was already planning for Miovski’s expected summer exit.
Sokler, 25, has netted four times in the Premier Sports Cup, but has yet to score in the Premiership this season.
Devlin said: “We have options in that area and it shows the strength in depth the manager has brought in.
“Ester never got his goal on Sunday, but you can see the work he puts in.
“The work he puts in maybe allows others to score.
“He is very unselfish and it allows others to look good – maybe to his detriment.
“We’ve got him, Kevin and Peter has done really well since he came in.”
Pape Gueye’s threat at set-pieces
Former Senegal under-20 international Gueye, 24, has scored three goals in the last two Premiership matches.
Signed for £500,000 from Belgian top-flight KV Kortrijk last summer, the 24-year-old suffered a frustrating debut campaign at Pittodrie.
Gueye secured limited playing time and just one start last season before being sent on loan to Norwegian club Kristiansund BK on loan in February.
The attacker enjoyed a successful loan spell with four goals and three assists in 15 appearances.
Gueye returned to Pittodrie in July with new manager Thelin offering every player a clean slate and the opportunity to fight for a place in his future plans.
The brace from Gueye extended Aberdeen’s perfect start to the season with eight wins from eight games in all competitions.
Devlin said: “Pape is maybe playing in a different position under the new manager to the one he was signed as.
“He is catching a lot of teams out, because they don’t know too much about him.
“Pape’s goals were really good.
“His second header was brilliant because his marker was close to him.
“It was almost like a wrestling match to see who got to the ball first.
“He is such a threat in those set-pieces for us.
“That’s two goals off corners and another from open play for Pape.
“It has been really good and, hopefully, he can keep that going.”
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