Ivan Sunjic may get a new contract offer from Birmingham City, according to Wayne Rooney’s recent request for keeping the midfield player in the starting lineup.
After being moved out on loan, Sunjic has established himself as a consistent member of the squad, appearing in 13 of the team’s 15 league games this year.
Sunjic has not scored, but his two assists and his tackles, interceptions, clearances, and blocks have been crucial to the defence structure of the club.
On Saturday, Wayne Rooney and Birmingham City will be trying to snap their losing streak against Sunderland.
After four games under Rooney’s leadership, the Blues’ only accomplishment to far is a point from their midweek matchup with Ipswich Town.
Many people were taken aback at the game’s halfway point, when Birmingham had taken a 2-0 lead due to goals from Jay Stansfield and an own goal.
But courtesy to a double from Marcus Harness, Ipswich stormed back in the last ten minutes of the match to secure a draw.
Midfielder Ivan Sunjic was one member of that team who has seemed to return to the starting lineup, and Rooney’s call on the player may indicate a change in strategy from the team.
The 27-year-old, who transferred from Dinamo Zagreb, has been enrolled at St. Andrews since 2019.
With the exception of the 2022–2023 season, when the team chose to loan the player to Hertha Berlin, Sunjic has played for the team all season long.
With his future at Birmingham appearing to be gone, the Croatian returned to the team in the summer, and he now appears to be firmly back in the club’s plans.
While he could wait until the summer and leave the club for nothing, Sunjic is free to talk a pre-contract with any European side as he is nearing the end of his deal.
However, given the nature of the season thus far and Rooney’s call on Saturday, Sunjic’s future may turn out to be very different from what was anticipated a whole year ago.
As previously said, Sunjic has improved from being sent out on loan during the previous season to a consistent fixture in the starting lineup.
Out of the 15 league games the team has played, the midfield player has only appeared as a substitute in two of those contests.
The Birmingham player has not scored any goals this season, but he has provided two assists, one in the match against Huddersfield Town and one against Bristol City.
Sunjic has averaged 27.5 passes per game overall, of which 79.1% have been completed and 0.9 are deemed crucial passes. However, according to WhoScored.com, the midfielder has been an integral part of the team’s defensive system, averaging two tackles, 1.3 interceptions, 1.5 clearances, and 1.1 blocks per game.
Given that Birmingham hired Krystian Bielik in the summer, the Croatian has truly taken a bet on his time at the team.
The 27-year-old has been playing in a midfield two with the Polish international lately, but Rooney chose to bench Bielik rather than Sunjic, indicating how highly he thinks of the player.
Consequently, this might imply that Birmingham is going to offer Sunjic a new deal and complete the remarkable turnaround, because the player is nearing the end of his term with the team.
In the summer, Sunjic was open to playing out the remaining year on his contract. However, considering Rooney’s apparent interest in the midfield player, it would be foolish of him to turn down a new contract offer from the team.
Leave a Reply