Aberdeen boss Jim Goodwin confirmed he aims to further strengthen his attack with more signings before the transfer window closes.
Goodwin has already landed 11 signings this summer in a rebuild costing in excess of £1.5 million in transfer fees.
However, the Reds boss still wants to sign another creative attacker and striker.
Reds gaffer Goodwin confirmed the club are in talks with a number of targets who are “keen to come” to Pittodrie.
The window closes on September 1 and Goodwin will not rush into signings as he is determined to get the “right ones” in.
In a blow, however, the Reds’ boss revealed influential midfielder Connor Barron will be ruled out for another six weeks due to a knee injury.
Barron, 19, has yet to feature this season having suffered the injury in pre-season.
Goodwin said: “I am still looking for a bit more on the attacking front.
“A creative attacking-type or even another striking option.
“We are actively looking and are speaking to a few at the moment.
“There are quite a few that are keen to come, but we just want to make sure we get the right ones in.”
Miovski scoring, but back-up needed
Goodwin added firepower to his attack with the £535,000 signing of striker Bojan Miovski from Hungarian club MTK Budapest.
North Macedonian international Miovski, 23, has scored four goals in his opening four games for the Dons.
Goodwin also beefed up his attack with the capture of Luis ‘Duk’ Lopes from Portuguese giants Benfica.
Winger Callum Roberts was signed from Notts County with another wideman, Shayden Morris, arriving from Fleetwood Town.
Roberts is sidelined for up to eight weeks, having suffered a hamstring injury in the recent 4-1 defeat of St Mirren.
Goodwin said: “Miovski has come in and has been brilliant.
“He has hit the ground running and settled in really quickly with four goals in four games.
🇲🇰 9⃣
⚽ A striker's instinct from Bojan for his second goal yesterday. #StandFree | @bojanmiovskii pic.twitter.com/u5U839w0lA
— Aberdeen FC (@AberdeenFC) August 7, 2022
“However, you can never have too many options in the forward areas.
“Those are the places where you need to freshen things up and to make changes in the games.
“We will wait and see what happens over the next couple of weeks.
“My squad is very strong at the moment so it is not panic stations or anything like that.
“If the window was to close tonight, there wouldn’t be too many problems at my end in terms of what we have already put together.”
Injury setback for teen star Barron
Meanwhile, Goodwin confirmed midfielder Barron will be sidelined until after the international break for Nations League games at the end of September.
Barron was the Dons’ stand-out performer in the second half of last season, having only made his debut in January this year.
The Scotland U21 international was short-listed for the PFA Scotland Young Player of the Year award.
Aberdeen recently opened contract talks with Barron in a bid to secure the teen midfielder on an extended deal.
He is contracted to the Dons until summer 2024, but Celtic, Premier League Brentford and Belgian club Genk are monitoring the teen.
Goodwin insists he will not rush Barron’s return to action – with the 19-year-old set for a mini pre-season before taking to the field.
He said: “Connor will be back on the grass running in four weeks’ time I would imagine.
“He is going to have some kind of mini pre-season from that point onwards.
“Connor will probably need a couple of weeks with the fitness guys.
“I would hope for a return to play probably six weeks from now.
“We are not going to rush it and it is one we have been quite cautious with.
“It is one that we don’t want to rush too early.”
Positive response after ‘Well defeat
Aberdeen travel to St Johnstone on Saturday aiming to bounce back from a dismal 3-2 defeat to Motherwell.
Goodwin insists the Reds have reacted to the loss positively in training this week.
Now he wants them to show that in the Premiership clash at Perth.
He said: “We have had a great reaction from the players since the disappointing result against Motherwell.
“We received plenty of pats on the back for our performances in the League Cup. And also in the win against St Mirren.
“The game against Motherwell was an off-day, it’s as simple as that.
“It wasn’t as if the players weren’t giving their all. There were too many individuals that had below-par performances.
“The big thing for me is what kind of response we get after a defeat.
“As soon as the players came back at Cormack Park on Monday morning their reaction was extremely positive.
“We are a very honest group as staff and players. When we get things wrong no-one hides behind anything or tries to pass the buck.
“It was a bit of a reality check and something we need to make sure doesn’t happen too often between now and the end of the season.”
Leighton Clarkson fitness boost
Aberdeen have received a fitness boost ahead of the St Johnstone game with Leighton Clarkson set to be available.
On-loan Liverpool midfielder Clarkson was forced off in the loss to Motherwell.
Winger Matty Kennedy was also replaced due to injury against ‘Well after just 30 minutes.
Kennedy is set to be given a fitness test ahead of the trip to Perth.
However, on-loan Middlesbrough left-back Hayden Coulson is expected to be unavailable for the weekend due to injury.
Coulson was forced off in the early stages of last weekend’s 4-1 victory over St Mirren, prompting fears he had suffered ligament damage.
However, scans revealed the defender’s injury is not as bad as first feared.
Goodwin said: “Leighton is going to be fine for the weekend.
“He had a bit of cramp in his calf on Saturday but he seems to be okay.
“Leighton trained this morning and looked really good.
“Matty Kennedy will have a fitness test on Friday and we will make a decision on him. He did a little bit of light training on Thursday morning so we will see how he is feeling.
“Then we will make a decision on him on Friday afternoon
“It looks like the game will come too early for Hayden Coulson.”
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