Joe Harper: Duk deserves a second chance after returning to Aberdeen

I am glad Duk has returned to Aberdeen but the attacker faces a battle to get back into the team and the hearts of supporters.

Everyone deserves a second chance and that applies to Duk who is now back at Pittodrie after going AWOL in the summer.

Hopefully Duk grabs this opportunity and returns to the superb level of performance displayed during his debut season at Pittodrie.

None of us know what was going through Duk’s mind at the time he was AWOL or if he was receiving bad advice.

All we know is that the outcome was an unfortunate situation for Aberdeen and Duk.

Aberdeen supporters adored Duk and he can still earn that affection back but the Cape Verde international will have to work for it.

To earn the backing and trust of the Red Army again Duk will have to prove to them that he wants to play for Aberdeen.

And he can only do that by giving his all on the pitch whenever he gets game time.

Battle to break into in-form team

Duk will also have to fight and bust a gut in training to earn a spot in Jimmy Thelin’s team.

He won’t just walk back into the team, he will have to earn that slot.

And that will be difficult in a team that are in red hot form having won nine out of nine games in all competitions this season.

Now that he is back at Pittodrie, Duk needs to buckle down and give absolutely everything to the club.

If Duk wanted to get a transfer out of Aberdeen during the summer transfer window he went about it in entirely the wrong way.

Now he has to put what has happened behind him and focus on making an impact for the Dons and making the most of his second chance.

Bojan Miovski set the right example

Duk should take a leaf out of Bojan Miovski’s book who never faltered in his focus on Aberdeen and got a big move.

Miovski was at the centre of transfer speculation for more than a year with clubs across Europe watching the striker.

However at no point did Miovski say he wanted to leave and his performance levels and commitment to the Dons never dropped.

The North Macedonia international continued to work hard and improve his game.

He went from scoring 18 goals in his debut season to scoring 26 last term.

And eventually Miovski got a move to Girona in the Spanish top flight that saw him move up a level and Aberdeen secure a club record transfer fee.

Miovski and Duk both scored 18 goals in 2022-23, the season where Duk was named Aberdeen’s player of the year.

The challenge now that he is back in the Granite City is for Duk to rediscover that form that made him one of the most exciting players in Scotland.

Thelin perfect boss to reignite Duk

And Jimmy Thelin is the ideal manager to help Duk grab his second chance and rediscover his top form.

Thelin said he will support Duk after the striker demonstrated his contrition.

The Dons boss is a calm and thoughtful manager and I’m sure he will have had a long discussion with Duk on his return.

Duk is like a new player for Thelin because he had never worked with him until the attacker’s recent return.

And hopefully under Thelin ‘s guidance Duk will be a return to the form of the his debut season.

Get the latest Dons news direct to your phone by joining our Aberdeen FC WhatsApp community.