Aberdeen manager Stephen Robinson has confirmed the signing of German goalkeeper Marius Muller from Wolfsburg as a proactive measure to cover potential bids for first-choice keeper Dimitar Mitov.
Proactive transfer strategy
Robinson revealed that the club moved quickly to secure the experienced 33-year-old after monitoring interest in Mitov. “Marius is a very experienced goalkeeper, played at a very high level in the Bundesliga, so he adds real experience, real quality to the goalkeeping group,” Robinson said. “Obviously, there has been a bit of interest in Dimi and we have to be prepared for that.”
The Northern Irish manager emphasised his preference for proactive rather than reactive recruitment. “I’m someone who believes in being proactive instead of reactive, where you end up paying too much money at the last days of the window, so we've moved very quickly to put that in place.”
Muller's experience
Muller, who joined Aberdeen earlier this week, brings Bundesliga experience from his time at Wolfsburg. Robinson highlighted the rarity of such an opportunity. “The opportunity came for Marius and it's not often you get the opportunity with that amount of experience and that level of quality. So, we decided to do that and then it means that we're in a better position should anything happen with Dimi.”
No concrete offers for Mitov
Despite speculation, Robinson insisted there are no firm bids for Mitov at this stage. “At the moment, there's been obviously lots of rumours, lots of talk, lots of agents, but no, not at this moment in time,” he said. The manager acknowledged the difficulty of retaining all players, adding: “I like to keep everybody, but that's obviously not feasible when you've got a squad of 29 players, 30 players.”
Squad updates
Robinson also provided an update on returning players: midfielder Kjartan Kjartsson, Kenan Bilalovic, and Alex Briedel are all back in training, although the weekend clash with Queen’s Park comes too early for Stuart Armstrong.
