Luka Sucic - Liverpool target one of Europe’s brightest midfielders

Jacque Talbot

• Updated: 19 Feb 2023 09:12 GMT
• 3 min read

He may not be a household name yet, but Luka Sucic is one of the rising stars in European football.

As we revealed on Saturday, Liverpool have the midfielder on their list ahead of the summer window.

The 20-year-old, who can play either a No.8 or No.10, earned his first call-up for the senior

Croatia team just one month after debuting for the U21s.

His trajectory, both at domestic and international level, has attracted the interest of the Reds, but Newcastle also were keen on the youngster last summer.

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Sucic started his career with ith SV Sparkasse Alkoven in Austria, before joining Union Edelweiss Linz. He spent seven years there before Red Bull Salzburg signed him and put him into their academy setup, where he thrived.

In the 2019-20 season, he played for Salzburg’s cohort 2.Liga outfit FC Liefering. Just a year later, he made his debut for Salzburg. It was in the 2021-22 season that Sucic cemented his starting place at Red Bull Arena, becoming one of their key players.

In a total of 57 Austrian Bundesliga games, Sucic has netted nine goals, helping them win the league in 2020–21 and 2021–22.

Sucic is an adept passer of the ball when playing in a deeper role. But he can also show great intent in attack.

An intelligent player, Sucic is handy in transition and is able to penetrate the opposition with progressive passes, while his positional sense is also outstanding.

When on the ball, he has no qualms about charging at defenders, while he is able to turn quickly and find space - his sizable height does not impede his mobility.

He is a quality set-piece taker, whether that be from the penalty spot or taking a corner as well.

There is an onus on top clubs today to bring in players who have a strong range of skills and are versatile. Sucic is just that.

Sucic -a star in the making

Statistically, he averages 0.19 assists per 90 mins, as well as 1.16 goals. His volume of shots per 90 is quite high - with 2.1 strikes. Sucic makes 2.8 ball recoveries per 90 and 2.4 successful dribbles.

Indeed, the 20-year-old is on the Reds’ preliminary list of players they are ready to target once the season is over.

We hear that conversations have been held internally about bringing the player to Anfield.

FootballTransfers was also informed that Sucic - who our data values at €19.4m- has a low release clause. Though we have not been given a specific figure, we are informed from one side that it’s somewhere between €15m-€20m. Such a fee would be a steal for a player of his calibre.