Serbian U21 International Marko Lazetić has joined the Dons from Serie A side, AC Milan.

The 21-year-old striker arrives at Pittodrie on a four year long contract for an undisclosed fee, subject to international clearance and being granted a UK VISA.

Having had to play the waiting game before finally sealing his move to the Granite City, Marko has no doubts this is the right move at this stage in his career.

“It feels amazing to finally be here after a bit of a wait, but I am ready to get to work”, said Marko.

“When Aberdeen called, I thought that is a place I want to call home. I saw the desire from the manager and staff here to make this happen, I loved the energy from everyone, so that’s why I wanted to be here as soon as possible.

“I think it’s a place where I can grow as a player and a person. It’s important as a player to be somewhere you feel you can work and excel. I think with Aberdeen they will help me to be a better player, and I hope I can help the club to be successful.

“I’ve seen footage of the fans, and I love their intensity. I look at football that way so I cannot wait to get to Pittodrie and hopefully score and celebrate with the fans.”

Lazetic began his career at Red Star Belgrade, progressing through their academy before earning a move to Italian giants AC Milan in 2022, for a reported fee of around £3.5m.

Since then, he has gained valuable experience with loan spells in the Eredivisie with Fortuna Sittard and prior to that had a loan stint at Rheindorf Altach in the Austrian Bundesliga prior to that. He spent the whole of last season back in his homeland on loan at FK TSC Bačka Topola.

The Serbia U21 strikers’ arrival brings another highly promising attacking threat to Dons boss Jimmy Thelin’s side.

He said: “We’ve been monitoring Marko for a while and are very pleased to have secured his signature.

“He has a fantastic pedigree and despite his young age has played at high level in different leagues across Europe.

“We will have to be realistic in our expectations with Marko as it will take him a bit of time to get up to match sharpness and integrate into our way of working. His pre-season has been a little frustrating due to the uncertainty surrounding his future, but he’s shown great patience and now he’s finally arrived we’re delighted to get down to the hard work with him to get him up to speed.

“We believe he will be an excellent addition to our squad. He has an imposing physical presence; good technical ability and he will provide versatility and competition for places ahead of a busy season. We believe we can unlock some of the undoubted raw materials that he has to make him a potent threat for Aberdeen.”