Birmingham City signed Ivan Sunjic despite reports that he could replace Kalvin Phillips at Marcelo Bielsa’s Championship table-toppers Leeds United.
Finding a midfielder capable of replacing Kalvin Phillips would be like trying to locate a hen with a set of pearly white molars.
So no wonder Leeds United seized the chance to tie down their academy graduate-turned-talisman to a new five-year contract after a summer of incessant speculation linking Phillips with a move away from Elland Road.
But it almost goes without saying that Leeds are prepared for every eventuality under the obsessive Marcelo Bielsa and it will come as no surprise to learn that The Whites did have a replacement lined up if they received an offer they simply couldn’t refuse for their 23-year-old maestro.
According to The Mail, Ivan Sunjic, a floppy haired youngster from Dinamo Zagreb, was the so-called ‘chosen one’. The captain of Croatia’s U21 side, Sunjic isn’t short of character and he’s even been compared to Luka Modric thanks to his superb range of passing.
You can see why Bielsa might like him.
Just weeks later, however, it was Birmingham City who welcomed the 22-year-old to English football, investing £6.3 million in a young midfielder who was far from a household name outside of his homeland (BBC).
Phillips wasn’t going anywhere and, therefore, he never needed to be replaced. But would Sunjic have been up to the task anyway?
The master vs the apprentice
The 6ft playmaker has started seven out of Birmingham’s eight Championship games and he’s made an excellent impression on the St Andrew’s faithful. But a glance at his statistics, as provided by WhoScored, suggests he still has a way to go before he can match up to Phillips.
His pass completion rate stands at 79 per cent, compared to 84 per cent for Leeds’ number 23. Sunjic also has less assists, fewer key balls and averages 34 successful passes per game compared to Phillips’s 69.
And while Sunjic makes more interceptions per game (2 compared to 1.3) this is probably due to Birmingham’s inability to monopolise possession quite like a relentless Leeds side. You don’t need to win the ball back if you’ve got it already. And Phillips, for what it’s worth, makes 4.5 successful tackles per game, more than double his Croatian counterpart.
In short, Sunjic feels like a work in progess whereas Phillips is starting to resemble the finished article.
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