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Joe Harper: Why new signing Oday Dabbagh can end Aberdeen scoring nightmare

Palestine international striker Oday Dabbagh was secured on transfer deadline day to bolster an attack who have scored just once in the last eight Premiership games.

Oday Dabbagh celebrates a goal for Palestine against Qatar. Image: Shutterstock.
Oday Dabbagh celebrates a goal for Palestine against Qatar. Image: Shutterstock.

Transfer window deadline day signing Oday Dabbagh has the pedigree to end Aberdeen’s damaging scoring problem.

The Dons have netted only once in the last eight Premiership games – an absolutely shocking return.

Aberdeen desperately needed to sign a striker with a track record of scoring before the January window shut.

The Pittodrie board and manager Jimmy Thelin delivered with the loan capture of Dabbagh on the final day of the window.

Palestine international Dabbagh is on loan until the end of the season from Belgian top flight-club Charleroi.

Charleroi's Oday Dabbagh fights for the ball during a match against KVC Westerlo, in the 'Jupiler Pro League.
Charleroi’s Oday Dabbagh fights for the ball during a match against KVC Westerlo, in the ‘Jupiler Pro League. Image: Shutterstock.

However, Aberdeen have the option to buy if Dabbagh is a success. Hopefully he bangs in the goals to trigger a permanent deal.

Unfortunately Dabbagh will not make his debut against Dunfermline Athletic in the Scottish Cup on Sunday as his work VISA will not be secured in time.

I have watched Dabbagh in action in clips on the internet and what I have seen has been very impressive.

Dabbagh has a goalscoring pedigree

Obviously you can only fully assess a player in a live game – and the videos posted online are always of the best goals.

But from what I have seen, he has an eye for goal, is skillful, powerful and can be the answer to Aberdeen’s goalscoring conundrum.

Dabbagh has scored goals in the Belgian top-flight and also netted 11 times in 37 appearances for Arouca in the Portuguese Primeira Liga.

On top of  that, he was top-scorer in the Kuwait league for Al-Arabi to fire them to the league title.

Aberdeen manager Jimmy Thelin looks dejected in the dugout during the 2-0 loss to Hibs at Easter Road, Edinburgh.
Aberdeen manager Jimmy Thelin during the 2-0 Premiership loss to Hibs at Easter Road. Image: SNS.

He has also scored 16 goals in 45 appearances for Palestine, so he has a history of finding the back of the net.

Hopefully the addition of Dabbagh will see Aberdeen move away from their tendency to pass it around at the back and lose momentum.

Dabbagh looks like a player who can pick up a quick ball upfield, hold it in and lay it off to his team-mates to ignite an attack.

And he also looks like a striker who can clinically finish an attack.

Nisbet needs to discover scoring form

However, all the pressure to start delivering goals cannot be placed solely on Dabbagh.

On-loan Millwall striker Kevin Nisbet also has to step up and start scoring.

Aberdeen's Graeme Shinnie (L) and Kevin Nisbet look dejected at full-time after the 2-0 loss to Hibs. Image: SNS
Aberdeen’s Graeme Shinnie (L) and Kevin Nisbet look dejected at full-time after the 2-0 loss to Hibs. Image: SNS.

When he arrived in the summer window, I thought Nisbet would make a real impact after watching him regularly score during his time at Hibs.

The signs were very positive when Nisbet banged in three goals in his first five appearances.

That form even saw him recalled to the Scotland squad for the Nations League double-header against Croatia and Portugal last October.

His form has fizzled out, though, and Nisbet has not scored since the 2-1 loss to Ross County on January 2 – Aberdeen’s last goal in the league.

Transfer of Duk is good business

Hopefully Aberdeen have been practising their shooting at Cormack Park in the build-up to the Scottish Cup clash with Dunfermline Athletic.

They are not getting enough shots off at goal and that needs to change.

Transfer deadline day also saw the transfer of Duk to Spanish La Liga club Leganes.

Cape Verde international Duk made a fantastic impact in his debut season with 18 goals following his arrival from Portuguese giants Benfica.

However, he failed to hit those heights last season and then went AWOL for two months during the summer transfer window.

Aberdeen's Duk celebrates after scoring to make it 3-0 against Elgin City. Image; SNS
Aberdeen’s Duk celebrates after scoring to make it 3-0 against Elgin City. Image: SNS.

Aberdeen sold Duk to Leganes for £600,000 – which is a great deal for a player who was out of contract at the end of the season.

Benfica are due 50% of that fee, but it is still a great deal for player with little time on his contract who had struggled to make an impact for 18 months.

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