The Big Board
Looking at contract expiries in the former Yugoslavia and picking the most interesting players out of contract in 2023
To borrow a thing from American sport, where the big board is a trope around draft and free agency as the literal method of clubs putting a bunch of names on a big whiteboard and ordering them in preference as to who they wish to acquire, here’s my attempt at a list for the region.
Contract expiry dates are cribbed from Transfermarkt and each player will come with why I like them and a potential ceiling club band. Given that, of course, we’re working with smaller leagues, we’re not looking at players who will make leaps to top five leagues immediately but will be able to take a step upwards in the food chain. Candidates are listed by the league their parent club is at so, as an example, Madzid Sosic would appear in the Croatia list rather than the Slovenia list as he’s on loan at Radomlje from Hajduk. The list, of course, goes North to South as I’ve never really been able to come up with a more logical format. So, without any further ado…
Slovenia
Mihael Klepac, 25 years old, NS Mura (Dec 23 expiry)
Klepac perhaps scored the most famous goal in the history of Mura and is almost ever present this season. Able to play on both wings but used primarily on the left this season (after experiments as part of a front two with Daku last term). In terms of production, this has been his most impressive season since his breakthrough at Aluminij. This is mainly due to him being a more well rounded player and having added the upper body strength and a bit more physicality that likely stopped some clubs pulling the trigger on him to step up direct from Aluminij to abroad. With Tio Cipot having moved on from Mura already, I expect Klepac’s contract will be a priority but if a club wants to swoop in the summer, the price won’t be too high.
Landing Club Band - With Scotland having lower work permit boundaries than England, a jump to the SPFL would be a much better fit than 24 months ago. Barring that, a move to a smaller top flight Croatian club would be a dilemma - better opportunities but his earning potential wouldn’t change much from Mura. Most likely to look for the best move outside of Slovenia he can get.
Martin Kramaric, 25 years old, NK Bravo
Before anyone had heard of Zan Vipotnik, the previous generation’s big hope from Maribor was Martin Kramaric. At Ljudski vrt, he always found a player in the way and never quite managed the consistency to really grab a hold of a first team place and make it his own. In three and a half years at Bravo, however, he’s very much managed that. Alternating between left-wing and a more central midfield role, Kramaric has put in the sort of numbers his potential demanded and is in the discussion as this season’s MVP of the league contributing 11 goals and 4 assists in a side that has only scored 28 all season. As captain and main penalty taker, he’s evolved not just into one of the most productive attacking players in the league but one who has become a leader in a side packed with youth.
Landing Club Band - Kramaric isn’t likely to be short on suitors but the most immediate play would surely be domestic - Celje want to stack up on leaders, Kramaric is a better left sided option than what they have and given Mario Kvesic has said he isn’t going there, he’s the next best thing, with a bit more versatility and youth too. Going abroad is an option too and you can see him trying Poland or Cyprus, as many players have done in the past.
Other names to take into account
Francesco Tahiraj, 26 years old, NK Radomlje
Took the wrong move when going to Hajduk and then Lokomotiva, spending time in the wilderness as a result. Hasn’t been at his productive best at Radomlje and definitely has another gear to find but is involved in play plenty, has developed defensively and his long term may be as a defensive winger or attacking wing back. His best is better than this league but he’s now one needing a very specific club.
Sacha Marasovic, 25 years old, Tabor Sezana
His ceiling is probably just getting another club in Slovenia for next season but, for a club whose transfer policy this season has been darts thrown at a board, the Croatian midfielder has been a pretty big success. For someone like Koper or someone in the Croatian second tier wanting to push for promotion, he’d be a solid bet to carry on his production.
Zan Trontelj, 23 years old, NK Bravo
This season has been a bit of a lost one for Trontelj after a formation change for the first half of the season left him short of a role and then personnel changes in the spring left the side short of form. That likely stops him from making the big leap to Austria, etc that other Bravo players have made but if I wanted to bet on anyone having a bounceback season in 23/24, my money would be firmly on him.
Nikola Krajinovic, 23 years old, NK Koper
Krajinovic has become a bit of a utility man so it’s easy to forget that he’s naturally a left winger. However, because of various bits of business at the club, he has been the attacking piece that has been shifted around the most - this season, that’s mostly been playing on the right to cover the sale of Kaheem Parris but he’s been shoved into every attacking position and also at left-back at points during his time at the club. Is he now merely a useful piece you can drop in anywhere or can his natural LW qualities be improved upon?
Croatia
Madzid Sosic, 20 years old, Hajduk Split (on loan at NK Radomlje)
Sosic is one of the players I’ve enjoyed watching the most this season. Three goals and three assists at lowly Radomlje come attached with a pair of sendings off also but it neatly sums him up - while his xA and xG could get better, his xChaos is off the chart and that is a talent I prize above a few more sensible things.
The question is how much you put value in all that given this is his first full season of proper senior football. It’s fair to note also that, in a dominant side at Zeljeznicar at youth level, his goalscoring record as a 16yo playing older players was 23 in 27 - the production is there and being at a smaller club like Radomlje might not have been the place to show it. There’s clearly an extremely talented player in there - the question is going to be how you get that all channelled into end product. In my own opinion, there should always be room for a player that makes stuff happen and that makes defenders have to expect the unexpected - Sosic definitely does that.
Sosic’s ceiling is probably above Hajduk but his floor is probably such that I can understand why he’s not got an extension given the options they have ahead of him. Given a three year deal somewhere, we’d know by the end exactly how good he can be - his next move will see him either sold for seven figures or out on a free and finding Radomlje were his level all along.
Landing Club Band - If I was still doing stuff for a Scottish Premiership club, he’d be on my shortlist to make that bet he’ll reach and surpass that level but, at the same time, I would want to see him at a side that is challenging for things to ensure he can show his attacking talents a little more and to test him in higher pressure situations. A club like Koper would make sense in terms of how they play and how much of the ball they’ll have, especially as they’re likely to have a left wing vacancy this summer.
Einar Galilea, 28 years old, Istra 1961
We’re now six seasons into Galilea being in Croatia - initially with Rudes and then Istra and, for the past four of those, he’s been a regular gradually dropping back from the centre of midfield into a centre back. This has been his first season as club captain and, now as the bedrock of Gonzalo Garcia’s side, his most impressive yet. While it seems odd to include someone now well into his prime in this list, there are few more reliable players in the league than Galilea. You want a threat at set pieces - Galilea has it. You want an organiser - Galilea does it. You want a composed ball-player at the back - that’s Galilea
Landing Club Band - Obviously, Galilea has a strong bond with Istra and it’s easy at this point to see him as much a role model as a player. Certainly, he has the talent to move up within the league and help bring players through. He wouldn’t be a very sexy signing for, say, Hajduk, but he would improve them particularly in helping young players come through around him. He’ll likely stay - I don’t feel Istra could replace what he brings mentally to the project as a whole - but plenty of sides would benefit from having him.
Haruki Arai, 24 years old, Sibenik (Jan 24 expiry - on loan from Tiamo Hirakata)
Arai, like Sosic above, is a fun player and I cannot imagine there would be a circumstance where he actually goes back to his parent club in the fourth tier of Japanese football in June. Not happening.
Arai is almost ever present this season and while 1 goal and 2 assists isn’t a massive return, it has to be framed in Sibenik’s bizarre season as a whole - one where they’ve essentially had one quality - being extremely hard to beat and that’s it. For a side with little attacking intent, Arai’s production must be framed with that in mind. What he brings is activity, willingness to make runs and to carry the ball and he’s doing all this in his first real season of strong senior football. There’s definitely more talent to tap into.
Landing Club Band - Remaining in Croatia would be pretty logical for him - should Sibenik stay up, the move becoming permanent would be logical. Should they not, then you’d think a side like Varazdin would benefit from bringing him in. Either way, following on from the success of Taichi Hara, Arai is affirming the success of Croatian sides sniffing around the Japanese university scene and other clubs will surely pick up on it.
Other names to take into account
Fran Brodic, 26 years old, NK Varazdin
Brodic has often threatened to be a good player but this season is the first he’s turned that into consistent production in the top flight. He’s done it by keeping things simple and ditching some of the craft and flair that was his trademark but now seems to have just been getting in the way a bit. Brodic has simply become the player most expected him to be but by doing it in a different manner and, if he wants to try outside of South East Europe again, this is the walk season he needed to get that chance.
Zinedin Mustedanagic, 24 years old, Vukovar 1991
One of a couple of second tier players who are definite candidates to take a step up. Mustedanagic has had a fairly nomadic career so far and this is his best season in a Vukovar side that are beginning to look like a top flight side in waiting and 9 in 22 is an impressive record from midfield, even taking penalties into account. You would expect he’ll be high on the list of players Vukovar wish to keep to make next season truly special but he’s likely already worthy of a shot at the top flight.
Stephen Chinedu, 23 years old, Solin
Chinedu’s bare stats don’t look that impressive but if you ask the scouting teams of many a top flight Croatian side, they’ll tell you they’ve tracked Chinedu for some time. Personally, I’d like to see him have another season below HNL, perhaps with a move to Slovenia to see if he can get those numbers rising a bit but people who know more than I do think the tools are there already.
Bosnia
Santos Clerismario, 21 years old, Zeljeznicar
Picked up by Zeljo after impressing at Rudar Prijedor last season, the Brazilian Santos has taken the jump to a decent Bosnian side from relegation candidates in his stride with 5 goals and 3 assists this season. Where other contenders for this listing have been tested at a higher level (such as Armin Hodzic’s spells in Spain and Portugal), Santos is unexposed beyond Bosnia having moved there at 19 after a season in Croatia. With three full seasons in Bosnia behind him, he is due another small step up this summer to take his talents out of the often rough and tumble Premijer Liga.
Landing Club Band - I’ve seen mention of Hajduk but I think that might be a little ambitious right now. To the top end of Slovenia (if Maribor were replacing Brnic, as an example) or to someone like Slaven Belupo would be a pretty logical step up for him and allow the physicality you can’t help but pick up in Bosnia to be used in a league where it’s the exception rather than the expectation.
Mihael Kupresak, 21 years old, Siroki Brijeg
Kupresak is an interesting one primarily because it’s taken till this season for him to become a full-blown left back. Prior to moving to Bosnia, he was a more advanced player throughout his youth at Osijek, good enough to get capped at U19 level on both the left and the right wing. Add to all that that the Bosnian league does have a good recent record of producing full backs such as Branimir Cipetic and Amar Beganovic and you can see why Kupresak might be a solid bet. As you would expect, he’s good with the ball at feet and a decent crosser but what stands out more is that for someone still learning the role, his positioning is disciplined.
Landing Club Band - Personally, I’d like to see him continue an extra season at Siroki Brijeg purely to learn the role a bit more but the fundamentals of the role itself have been picked up quickly enough that it wouldn’t surprise me if he were to take the step up now back to Croatia.
One other to keep in mind
Renato Josipovic, 21 years old, Siroki Brijeg
Josipovic, for the first half of last season, was great at Bravo in Slovenia. For the second half of the season, he disappeared, then was released by Dinamo and turned up in Siroki Brijeg. His record is decent enough there - his clean sheets ratio this season is behind only Josip Condric (who moved to Astana mid-season) and Nikola Cetkovic, who has another year on his deal. I’d certainly be tempted to give him another chance at a higher level.
Serbia
Nikola Jojic and Uros Sremcevic - Mladost Lucani
Those who know Serbian football know Mladost have made the call to go all in on their youth system and it paid off early with Dorde Gordic’s sale into the City Football Group system at Lommel. But with such a big gamble on youth comes a natural lag in quality as you await players coming through that system and hitting the first team in volume and the result is Mladost are in danger of relegation this term.
Which means that you should be looking at Uros Sremcevic and Nikola Jojic with some urgency.
Right winger Jojic is more blooded at senior level with 13 G+A in 30 appearances this season which got him into the Serbian Under-21 side. On the back of a very impressive youth league season last term, the worry always is that the record won’t translate to senior football but it clearly has. In the negative column, 8 of those G+A were in the first 12 games of the season but things kept ticking along just more slowly - not a bad thing and suggesting his production is stable, particularly given Mladost’s league position. Take the team’s overall performance as a caveat and he’s certainly worth a shot.
As for Uros Sremcevic, his record at youth international level suggests a big future at only 16 in spite of his limited game time at senior level. He is fast, strong and, most interestingly, two-footed which, even if his youth stats end up looking a bit inflated because he has a physical development advantage over age group players, is something that bodes well going forward for his ability to maintain at least some level of production.
Landing Club Bands - Both are hardly risk free bets - with Jojic, you’re betting that his early season form wasn’t an exception to the norm, with Sremcevic, you’re betting that he’s able to adjust to senior football physically and there’s plenty of players who don’t. The answers, generally, tend to be the words Crvena Zvezda - it gives Jojic the potential for either a loan or at least less reliance on his individual stuff in shorter appearances (which has worked well for Stefan Mitrovic) and it gives Sremcevic exposure to UEFA Youth League and gives him an extra season of growth. I’d much rather see Sremcevic in Serbia until 18 just as I’m not keen on seeing 16 year olds having to deal with culture changes in new nations as well as just trying to be a good footballer. Jojic is more likely to go abroad and, based on past precedent, the second tier of Spain would be a pretty logical destination.
Jug Stanojev, 23 years old, TSC
Stanojev has done little wrong at TSC and while his game time this season has been limited, that has to be caveated knowing that he’s gone from the first pick on the right to a formation where he doesn’t really fit. Looking at last season’s form is likely more instructive and 1 goals and 7 assists in 34 games isn’t anything to be sniffed at in a team that had a bit of an off season. To qualify it, his background suggests consistently that he starts and ends seasons well but that his form tends to drop off with the leaves from the trees. I would expect his production would pick up simply for moving to a league with better pitches and it has to be said that while his game time this season has been limited, he would be a starter right now for most Superliga sides.
Landing Club Band - Similarly to a comment earlier in this, if I was still scouting for a Scottish Premiership club, I’d be pushing to get Stanojev as I feel he’d a) fit the league and b) he’d improve for the facilities (even though TSC have some of the best in Serbia). That would be my suggestion but clearly, Belgium or similar would also be a good fit and I think better for his game than going to, say, Cyprus and playing on harder pitches.
Edin Ajdinovic, 21 years old, Vozdovac
One thing that should attract clubs to the region is that you can get players like Ajdinovic - 21 years old with 100+ senior appearances by the end of this season in the centre of midfield provides you with a player that comes with the potential for growth but the experience to be able to read the game as well as someone that’s 24/25 if you’re shopping in England or similar. Ajdinovic has been a regular for three seasons up on the roof, dropping gradually to the base of the midfield. While his ceiling isn’t as high as others on this list, bringing him in would get a solid season of production and the chance to make a profit as he is more likely to hit the ground running than most 21 year olds.
Landing Club Band - Ajdinovic is a small bet and a reasonably safe one for a lot of sides. You bet on him adapting to new surroundings well, on him potentially having a bit more growth to give and potentially being a player you turn a profit on but one with the worst case scenario of giving solid production. Slovenia would be an interesting move for him if he was going into European challengers but he could go west and still find a club with ease. Like Stanojev, if I was working in Scotland and thinking for someone I could make some money on to keep for 18 months and sell to England, Ajdinovic would be on my list.
Other names to take into account
Veljko Simic, 28 years old, Vojvodina
Having a good season, Simic got himself into national team reckoning with the B team and managed to stay there when proper qualifiers came around. He’s not up top because a) his stats are heavily skewed by an early season burst of goals that have dried up as the rest of the squad hit form and b) he’s 28 so doesn’t have resale value or more than two seasons of his prime left. It would be obvious to see him try Switzerland again but he’s likely best served simply staying where he is.
Milos Pantovic (not that one), 20 years old, Vozdovac
His stats are skewed by scoring against the bottom clubs only which automatically make me question how sustainable they are. That his assist rate has dropped as his goalscoring rate has risen in spite of his role not changing that much would also concern me. Absolutely the potential is there but I think it would need to very much be with the right coach to get him to level production out and reach his undoubted potential.
Montenegro and North Macedonia
(Kosovo doesn’t have much coming free, North Macedonia’s contract info on transfermarkt is bare bones at best)
Novica Erakovic, 23 years old, Sutjeska
Previously linked with LASK Linz, Erakovic is far, far too good for the Montengrin league. Prior to this season, he was very much a metronomic deeper player - this season he has been set free with five goals and ten assists in 25 games, which is a fantastic record in any league. I expected him to leave last season and the season before that and he’s been on my list of targets for three years. Long followed by this writer, updated role bringing a fabulous increase in production and international recognition - this has to be the summer he moves.
Landing Club Band - LASK are, of course, a side at the sharp end of Austrian football and that they would look tells you plenty about where his landing point might be - some very good clubs. Most linked clubs I’ve seen have been distinctly Germanic in nature so Austria, Switzerland and 2. Bundesliga would all be likely destinations and while they are two steps up in standard given how Montenegrin football is, I’m confident he’d make it. If a club smaller than that could get him, there’s a potential big profit there.
Freddy Alvarez, 27 years old, Shkupi
Macedonia’s favourite Costa Rican has had a ridiculous season - after 26 G+A last season in 31 games, this season he’s running at 24 G+A in 24 games which, by anyone’s standards, suggests he’s got it in him to make a step up in class next term to a better league. There likely isn’t masses of potential that he hasn’t already realised in him but he likely needs a bit more prominence to propel him into the international reckoning and that means a bigger club.
Landing Club Band - Spain or Portugal, if we’re honest. That keeps things OK language wise as both have fairly decent sized Costa Rican contingents in their league. If he wants to stay at Shkupi and become the nation’s very own Marcos Tavares, he can do that but he can stretch for more.