What Jimmy Thelin has said on Aberdeen star’s future with contract expiring

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Ante Palaversa arrived at Aberdeen with enormous pedigree behind him, once signed by Manchester City for £7million.

The midfielder only arrived on a one-year deal, with Aberdeen holding the option to extend by a further two, and hasn’t been a first-team regular.

But what he has done is shown his quality in the few starts that he has had and the sub appearances he has made, scoring a winning goal against Hearts and another against Dundee.

With the Dons’ form stuttering and Graeme Shinnie and Sivert Heltne Nilsen not exerting the same dominance in the middle of the pitch, more opportunities may come.

The Dons are in discussions with nine out-out-contract stars as they start making plans for beyond this season.

And manager Jimmy Thelin spoke about Aberdeen’s plans for January transfers and their stars on expiring deals.

CEO Alan Burrows also had his say on the Pittodrie side’s January plans.

Palaversa would be one they would like to keep if the player feels the same.

• READ MORE: Aberdeen nervously awaiting scan results on two injured stars

Thelin on Palaversa’s Aberdeen future

Aberdeen are the ones who hold the option for a further two years on Palaversa, which they can trigger.

But Thelin insists they would only do so after discussions with the player to establish whether he is happy to stay.

He told the Daily Record: “Yeah, there’s always discussion about the players. I think they’re doing a good job there. But for me, it’s most important that the player feels like I want to be here and want to grow here.

“I trust the process and if that’s the case, let’s see what happens in the future.

“I always think the environment is crucial for people. The players are people and you have to have an environment where you can feel you can grow.

“Of course, there are always demands, and there is always pressure. It is to create an environment where we can make the players grow and feel like they have space to grow also.

“There is always a process there in which we trust. The players feel that we trust them.”

More to come from Palaversa at Aberdeen

Thelin believes Palaversa has much more to offer at Pittodrie if he does stay put.

He sees him becoming a massive character in the dressing room but also challenged him to produce more consistency.

He went on: “Yeah, I think like, as I told you, you can see his quality as a footballer. He is becoming a bigger character in the dressing room and on the pitch. I think you can always grow as a leader. But he can give things on a really high level.

“I think also for him it’s important to try to be consistent now. If you think about his background, a little bit here, a little bit there and some injuries. Every week you see new things from him in a positive way. So, we’re really pleased how things are developing with him.”

The 24-year-old had that spell at Manchester City and his current manager insists it’s evident why he was thought of that highly.

He added: “Yeah, we believe in him a lot but I don’t want to talk about this much in the future.

“But you can see why he was on these radars before. Can we get more consistent? I think you see the evolution and development of him more or less every week, something new happens with him.

“I hope we can bring that forward and he feels happy here and can continue to grow in our environment. I think that’s good.”