Barry Robson in Duk Aberdeen FC transfer prediction as striker interest intensifies

Aberdeen boss Barry Robson is confident that Duk won't be heading for the January sales.

The striker has been linked with a move to Swiss club Young Boys and there has been reported interest from clubs in several other countries but his manager has insisted it has been all noise and there has been no substance behind it. Duk was a key figure for Aberdeen last season but hasn't hit the same heights this time around. The 23-year-old is now going into the last 18 months of his contract and Benfica have a 50 percent cut of any transfer fee.

Robson said: “Am I confident he’ll be here beyond the end of the month? Yeah, I think so. You’ll always get talk and rumours, but nobody has phoned me. Until there’s something concrete there’s nothing for us to worry about or think about. If it happens we’ll see where it goes, but at the moment we’ve not heard anything.”

Duk had to cope with the disappointment of missing out on Cape Verde's African Cup of Nations squad but Robson believes it will be a positive for Aberdeen. He stated: "It was probably a blow for Duk but he’s a strong character. He’s a brilliant boy, every day he comes in with a smile on his face wanting to work.

“The players and staff love him. He’s a very important player for us. We made him do high numbers with his running stats when he first came in and we’ve asked that again of him this season. He’s played a lot of football over the last year so we have asked plenty of him. So hopefully the break can be good for him, it has freshened him up and he’s ready to go again."

Aberdeen have let Rhys Williams and Or Dadia leave after pretty fruitless loans. Robson is keeping an eye on the market but any business will be limited. “We signed a lot of players in the