It’s safe to assume that supporters had high expectations when Croatian international midfielder Ivan Sunjic joined Birmingham City in the summer of 2019.
Despite having just received one cap for Croatia, Sunjic was obviously a very excellent potential to play for them as this was a team that had advanced to the World Cup final the year before.
The midfielder was obviously well-liked in his native country—he captained Croatia’s under-21 team during the 2019 UEFA European Under-21 Championships—so when the Blues announced his signing, it seemed like quite the coup.
To get him to St Andrew’s from Croatian powerhouse Dinamo Zagreb, they paid a club record sum of £6.3 million, and it appeared to be a true declaration of purpose on the part of Pep Clotet.
That hasn’t exactly worked out, though, and after almost five years, Sunjic appears certain to depart St Andrew’s this summer when his contract expires.
Ivan Sunjic is undoubtedly a gifted player, but it has been challenging for him to perform to his full potential at St Andrew’s.
To be fair, he hasn’t helped himself by playing for a subpar team that has consistently finished lower in the Championship standings since he came in the summer of 2019.
In his first season with St Andrew’s, Sunjic made 41 appearances and scored three goals. It was a mostly successful first season, and there were hopes that the young player would improve in the ensuing seasons.
But the next season, Sunjic only contributed one goal while playing 45 games. The next season was much the same, and even though he made 44 games for the Blues, he wasn’t exactly the world’s most exciting player.
Sunjic’s tenure at Birmingham City is best described as solid but unspectacular.
