Duk in Aberdeen transfer as Dons star admits he targets Prem 'springboard' after 'not being tempted' by original Pittodrie move

Aberdeen striker Luis 'Duk' Lopes has caused a potential stir amongst the Pittodrie faithful after claiming that he only moved to the Scottish Premiership side in a bid to 'springboard' a move to England.

Duk, who joined in the summer as a 22-year-old from Benfica's B team, has scored 13 goals in just 30 top-flight games for Barry Robson's men, including four in his last six with the Dons picking up five wins in that time.

Alongside fellow striker partner Bojan Miovski, the attacking star has shown that Aberdeen do have firepower up front, and at a young age his talents have been noted elsewhere with interest from England already being reported over the last couple of weeks.

And with that in mind, the Cape Verdean has admitted that he only moved to Scotland with a move to the English leagues in mind - whilst also revealing that he wasn't fully convinced on a move to the east coast before joining Aberdeen.

He told Maisfutebol: "I honestly didn't know about Aberdeen beforehand. My agent presented them to me as an option, but I wasn't very tempted to join them. It was my father who encouraged me to come over to Scotland.

"I knew that the Scottish league has often been a springboard for players to reach the English Championship, and even the Premier League. That is one of the reasons I chose to come here. I came here with the aim of getting to England."

"When arrived I realised that Aberdeen are a big club, with a large fanbase. They have similarities with Benfica. They have a great history in Europe, although they are in a rebuilding phase right now. The fans chant my name, and live for their football more than Portuguese fans. They sing non-stop, and turn up in large numbers."

Adapting to life in Scotland can be quite a