Is Duk the Scottish Premiership's best player outside of Celtic and Rangers?

 

After scoring the sole goal in Aberdeen’s 1-0 victory away to Ross County in Dingwall on Friday night, Luis Lopes became the Scottish Premiership’s most clinical of 77 players to have taken over 20 shots with a conversion rate of 30.8%. 

 

‘Duk’ has now bagged six goals in his last five league games, playing a pivotal role in firing the Dons up to third place in the league table. With the rich vein of form he’s in, his case for being deemed the best player in the division - outside the top two teams - has strengthened. 

 

His last two months have been outstanding, having scored three goals in the two Scottish Premiership fixtures that Aberdeen played in March. He broke the deadlock against former boss Jim Goodwin’s Dundee United and fired a brace against European place rivals Hearts. 

 

And, ahead of Sunday’s huge clash with Rangers, he’s bagged three goals in as many matches that the Dons have played in April. The only exception was Remi Matthews’ own goal in the victory over St Johnstone at McDiarmid Park. 

 

On Friday night, his solitary strike proved the difference against the Staggies. However, he created the most chances on Friday in Dingwall (3) and completed the most dribbles (4) as Aberdeen claimed another three pivotal points. 

 

He scored with his only shot in the match and, had he not strayed fractionally offside, could’ve claimed an assist for strike partner Bojan Miovski - who sent the initial pass a tad too late - as the North Macedonian slammed home.  

 

 

Duk is more than just a goalscorer, despite being the fourth-top in the division (16). After the weekend, he trails only Celtic’s Kyogo Furuhashi (23), Motherwell’s main marksman Kevin van Veen (19) and Lawrence Shankland of Hearts (18) in the Scottish Premiership standings. 

 

Lopes has contributed to nearly a third of Aberdeen’s Scottish Premiership goals this season (32%) with fellow forward Miovski’s 15 goals accounting for a further 30%. The two have struck up a great partnership, so it’s no surprise to see numerous clubs interested in the pair. 

 

Despite standing at just 5’11”, the 23-year-old has scored the most headed goals in the division (5). 10 of his 16 strikes (62.5%) have been struck by his right foot, just like Friday night, leaving just one with his weaker left foot (6.25%). 

 

Only Ryan Kent of Rangers (55) and Hearts’ Barrie McKay (49) have completed more successful dribbles in Scotland’s top tier than the Cape Verde international (48) this season. So it could be argued that he’d be just as effective if he were out on the flank, as opposed to up front. 

 

A target for opposition defences, he’s won the most penalties of any player in the Scottish Premiership (4). Lopes is also the tied-third most fouled player in the division (51) trailing only Livingston’s Joel Nouble (56) and the aforementioned Ryan Kent (53). 

 

Having only signed at Pittodrie last summer, he’s turning into Aberdeen’s main matchwinner. Back-to-back braces in his last two home games, he – alongside the Dons – appears to have caught fire at the right time as they’ve leapfrogged Hearts in the race for third place. 

 

In fact, Aberdeen have won nine of the 13 league games that Duk has scored in (69%). Heading into the business end of the Scottish Premiership season, no player in Scotland’s top tier has amassed more WhoScored man of the match awards (6) than the former Benfica B starlet.  

 

While most of the fans will look back at Jim Goodwin’s spell as Dons boss as a failure, the signing of Luis Lopes is something that they should be grateful to the Dundee United manager for. 

 

Duk penned a three-year deal back in July 2022 and, given his recent form, he’ll do well to stay in the north east beyond a year. As much as a European campaign with the Dons could tempt him to stay, you’d imagine there’ll be plenty potential suitors for the Portugal-born forward, which can only be a good thing for Aberdeen.

Is Duk the Scottish Premiership's best player outside of Celtic and Rangers?