Dundee United will face a battle in their bid to make striker Pavol Safranko’s stay at Tannadice permanent.
Aberdeen are understood to be one of a number of clubs here and on the Continent who’ve been keeping tabs on the 24-year-old loan star.
Safranko remains under contract at parent club Aalborg for next season but there has already been contact with them from the Tangerines indicating they would be interested in doing business should they be willing to let the Slovakian go.
With Dons boss Derek McInnes facing a squad rebuild this summer, he could be putting in a similar call to the Danish Superliga outfit.
That Safranko is attracting attention comes as no surprise.
A fans’ favourite at United, he has scored 14 goals in his 36 appearances since joining up last August.
He is also going into the promotion play-offs next week in good form, having scored three goals in his last five outings.
His work at United this season has earned him a recall to the Slovakian national squad for recent Euro 2020 qualifiers against Hungary and Wales.
That’s increased his profile on the Continent and there is every chance of clubs there joining any chase for him.
There is, though, also the possibility Aalborg could decide to have him in their squad for next term, leaving all interested parties including United disappointed.
They’ve had a mediocre season and have only been averaging just over a goal a game in league matches.
Tonight, meanwhile, Tangerines boss Robbie Neilson will be heading for Ayr to watch the first leg of the play-off quarter-final between the Honest Men and Inverness Caley Thistle.
The pair meet again in the Highlands on Saturday and only then will United know where they’ll be heading for the first leg of their play-off semi-final a week tonight.
The return leg of that one will be at Tannadice on Friday night and, should United get through, they will host the second-bottom finishers in the Premiership the following Thursday.
With that potentially hectic schedule of four games in under a fortnight, the manager has given the squad a couple of days off before starting his build up.
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