Jimmy Thelin will trigger the option to keep Ante Palaversa at Aberdeen, but only if the Croatian makes it clear he wants to stay at Pittodrie.

The Dons signed the midfielder from French outfit Troyes in the summer for the season, with another two-year deal beyond that on the side of the Reds.

The ex-Manchester City midfielder has proven to have the quality to thrive in Scotland, and Thelin admitted the key to keeping him in the Granite City is Palaversa himself, writes the Daily Record.

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The Aberdeen manager said: "Yeah, there's always discussion about the players. I think they're doing a good job there.

"But for me, it's most important that the player feels like I want to be here and want to grow here. I trust the process and if that's the case, let's see what happens in the future.

"I always think the environment is crucial for people. The players are people and you have to have an environment where you can feel you can grow.

"Of course, there are always demands, and there is always pressure. It is to create an environment where we can make the players grow and feel like they have space to grow also.

"There is always a process there in which we trust. The players feel that we trust them."

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There is no doubting Palaversa’s pedigree but he needed a platform to rebuild his career, and Thelin and the Dons have provided that.

The 24-year-old spent most of his time at City out on-loan before he moved to Troyes but then found himself struggling for game time. Thelin has been impressed but reckons there is even more to come from Palaversa.

Thelin claimed: "Yeah, I think like, as I told you, you can see his quality as a footballer. He is becoming a bigger character in the dressing room and on the pitch.

"I think you can always grow as a leader. But he can give things on a really high level.

"I think also for him it's important to try to be consistent now. If you think about his background, a little bit here, a little bit there and some injuries.

"Every week you see new things from him in a positive way. So, we're really pleased how things are developing with him."

Pep Guardiola paid around £7million to sign Palaversa from Hajduk Split and Thelin has backed him to play an even bigger part for the Euro-chasing Dons in the second half of the season.

He said: "Yeah, we believe in him a lot but I don't want to talk about this much in the future. But you can see why he was on these radars before.

"Can we get more consistent? I think you see the evolution and development of him more or less every week, something new happens with him.

"I hope we can bring that forward and he feels happy here and can continue to grow in our environment. I think that's good."

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Thelin has also credited the Pittodrie recruitment team for unearthing Palaversa, as he explained: "He was in this system and in that way he's arrived in the last ten (shortlist), the last five and then the last three options.

"They are doing a really good job the way we work and what we're searching for. Then, we have to watch them, of course.

"We work with the background and do all the references and that kind of thing. It was the recruitment department."

Aberdeen also remain in talks with Jamie McGrath and Jack MacKenzie who are also out of contract in the summer, with Duk another who falls into that bracket.

He looks set to move on after three years with the Dons however, having been keen to push through a move last summer before going AWOL for a spell and eventually returning to play under Thelin.

The deals of Angus MacDonald and goalkeeper Ross Doohan are also up at the end of the season.