Aberdeen manager Jimmy Thelin has urged fans and pundits alike to refrain from drawing direct comparisons between new striker Oday Dabbagh and former club favourite Bojan Miovski.
Dabbagh, who joined the Dons on-loan from Sporting Charleroi on deadline day, made his debut last Saturday, coming off the bench in the final moments of Aberdeen's 2-1 Scottish Premiership victory over Dundee at Dens Park.
Despite only a brief appearance, the Reds' newest signing has already caught the attention of Thelin and his teammates during their training sessions.
While some have noted similarities in playing style between Dabbagh and Miovski - who was adored by the Red Army during his two years at Pittodrie - Thelin emphasised the importance of allowing Dabbagh to carve out his own identity within the team.
"No, I don't think like that," Thelin insisted. "I don't like to compare players, I think every player is unique in one way. So I haven't thought so much about that myself, actually. But what he has is a good ball touch. He's good at finding positions inside the box and is also a good finisher.
"Let's see how he connects with the team and how we play. Of course he needs time, like everybody else, but I think he's a clever player and can adapt really quickly. He has his strength in the link play with other players, but also always finds space to finish inside the box."
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Aberdeen have achieved consecutive victories, first defeating Dunfermline Athletic in the Scottish Cup and then securing a long-awaited league win against Dundee.
During the winter transfer window, Thelin made six signings, three of whom have began in the Aberdeen defence for the past two matches.
Alexander Jensen is currently keeping Scotland cap Nicky Devlin out of the starting XI since his €650k switch from Brommapojkarna.
"The competition inside the squad is stronger," the Aberdeen boss said on the fresh faces being key to their improved results.
"That's forced everyone to take another step up. I think the team is growing again in the right direction. Hopefully, now we can put a challenging time behind us and keep building on this now. But still, it's always game by game.
"I think everything needs some time sometimes. The players have different backgrounds also. Every week will help us to get stronger and stronger and that is really important for us right now in the part of the season we are for the goals we have and the ambition we have for the season.
"Also, some players have different skills, some are more technique, powerful, speed, and some are better on the understanding of the game, so it's a mix of everything.
"Sometimes it's going quicker for some players when it comes to adaptation and they can create relations really quickly."
