Marko Lazetic ready to call Aberdeen home after joining from AC Milan

Marko Lazetic described Aberdeen as a place he wants to call home after the Serbian striker completed his protracted move from AC Milan to Pittodrie.

The Serbia Under-21 international has signed a four-year contract subject to being granted a work permit.

Aberdeen have agreed an undisclosed fee with the Italian giants to sign Lazetic, who made his Red Star Belgrade debut at the age of 16 and joined Milan in a multi-million pound deal five days after his 18th birthday.

The 21-year-old said: “It feels amazing to finally be here after a bit of a wait, but I am ready to get to work.

“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 made two brief substitute appearances for Milan, including one in a Coppa Italia derby against Inter Milan.

He has also featured in the top flights of Austrian, Dutch and Serbian football in loan spells, most recently with TSC Backa Topola in his homeland last season.

Dons manager Jimmy Thelin 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.”