Name: Luka Sucic

Position: Center Midfielder/Attacking Midfielder

Country: Croatia

Age: 21

Height: 185cm

Preferred Foot: Left

Last Club: RB Salzburg

Born in Austria to Bosnian Croat parents, Sucic began his career in AKA Salzburg before joining RB Salzburg. At RB Salzburg he went one season on loan to Liefering in the Second Division of Austria and has spent the last 3 seasons in the first team of RB Salzburg.

In this image, we can see that Sucic has the most xG among the Real Sociedad players highlighting his ability to get into goal-scoring positions. However, he has to improve his goal-scoring ability as he has fewer goals scored than his xG would suggest. This also tells us his profile as a midfielder as he likes to get forward which suggests that he is more offensive rather than defensive.

Here we can see that Sucic tops off the list with the most assists and the most expected assists showing that he has the ability to create chances. This is something valued by every manager and could aid Real Sociedad to earn a place for the Champions League next season.

In this image, we can see that even though Sucic attempts many forward passes per 90, his precision is the lowest which shows that this is not one of his strengths. Nonetheless, it isn’t a very clear deficiency and can be something that can improve in the near future as the manager Imanol Alguacil will demand better passing if they are to generate chances.

Here we can see that Sucic gets very involved in the possession as he has the most passes per 90 with decent precision considering he attempts more than 40 passes per 90. He has very similar numbers to Mikel Merino, the player he has come to replace if he does make a move this transfer window, showing he is the ideal replacement in this remark. This is an aspect that Alguacil highly values as they like to dominate matches and with other players having fewer touches on the ball he is counted upon to move the ball along with Martin Zubimendi.

In this image, we can observe that Sucic has the highest success rate in defensive duels which highlights his ability to win these type of actions. Nonetheless, it is also true that he has the least defensive duels per 90, compared with Mikel Merino he has 2 defensive duels less per 90.

However, they both have very high success rate in defensive duels which makes Sucic a great replacement in this department to Mikel Merino if he can keep this win rate with more duels per 90. However, these statistics may be influenced by counter-pressing as Sucic looks like a more offensive midfielder.

In this image, we can observe that Sucic has the highest success rate in defensive duels which highlights his ability to win these type of actions. Nonetheless, it is also true that he has the least defensive duels per 90, compared with Mikel Merino he has 2 defensive duels less per 90.

However, they both have very high success rate in defensive duels which makes Sucic a great replacement in this department to Mikel Merino if he can keep this win rate with more duels per 90. However, these statistics may be influenced by counter-pressing as Sucic looks like a more offensive midfielder.

In this image, we can see that Sucic’s ability to win aerial duels is far worse than that of Mikel Merino who participates in 10 more aerial duels per 90 than Sucic with a higher success rate. This is something he will have to improve on if he is to flourish in Spain and if Real Sociedad are to succeed.

Conclusion

In conclusion, Luka Sucic is the ideal replacement for Mikel Merino when looking at passing and defensive duels. This is because his ability to win aerial duels is quite poor compared to Mikel Merino, this is an aspect he must improve if he is to excel in Spain and be the perfect replacement for Merino. Nonetheless, his xG and xA are better than those of Merino which showcase his ability to be decisive for his team, something Merino didn’t have.

Overall, Sucic is a great signing for Real Sociedad and a great replacement to Merino if he can improve aerially. Nonetheless, he is stilly young at just 21 years old giving him time to improve and many players having come from the Red Bull franchise have ended up succeeding at other clubs, though due to his inexperience, there are question marks as to how he will adapt to the Spanish league.

By: Juan Fernandez Valencia / @ScoutLaLiga

Featured Image: @GabFoligno / Chris Brunskill/ Fantasista / Getty Images