Matija Sarkic

Matija Sarkic (Montenegrin: Матија Шаркић, romanized: Matija Šarkić; born 23 July 1997) is a professional footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for Premier League club Wolverhampton Wanderers and the Montenegro national team.

Matija Sarkic

Personal information
Full name	Matija Sarkic[1]
Date of birth	(1997-07-23) 23 July 1997[2]
Place of birth	Grimsby, England
Height	6 ft 5 in (1.95 m)[3]
Playing position(s)	Goalkeeper
Club information
Current team	Wolverhampton Wanderers
Youth career
0000–2015	Anderlecht
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
2015–2020	Aston Villa	0	(0)
2017–2018	→ Wigan Athletic (loan)	0	(0)
2018–2019	→ Stratford Town (loan)	6	(0)
2019	→ Havant & Waterlooville (loan)	1	(0)
2019–2020	→ Livingston (loan)	14	(0)
2020–	Wolverhampton Wanderers	0	(0)
National team
2013	Montenegro U17	3	(0)
2014–2016	Montenegro U19	12	(0)
2015–2018	Montenegro U21	6	(0)
2019–	Montenegro	1	(0)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 19:37, 3 January 2020 (UTC)

Sarkic came through the academy of Anderlecht before signing with Aston Villa in 2015. He has represented the Montenegro at youth level before making his debut for the senior national team in November 2019.

Club career

Aston Villa

Sarkic graduated from the youth academy of Belgian club Anderlecht before signing a three-year contract with English club Aston Villa on 1 September 2015.[4] He was the club's under-21 team's goalkeeper for the 2015–2016 season which saw the club reach the Division Two play-off final. In April 2017, he was named on the bench for a league match against Reading as cover for Sam Johnstone following an injury to Mark Bunn.[5]

On 31 August 2017, Sarkic joined Wigan Athletic on a season-long loan deal.[6] In December 2018, he joined Stratford Town on a youth loan.[7]

On 26 June 2019, Sarkic signed for Livingston on what was intended to be a season-long loan.[8] Sarkic was recalled by Aston Villa on 3 January 2020, as their first-choice goalkeeper Tom Heaton had suffered a knee injury.[9]

Sarkic was released by Aston Villa at the end of the 2019–20 season.[10]

Wolverhampton Wanderers

Sarkic signed for Villa's Premier League rivals Wolverhampton Wanderers on 27 July 2020 on a three-year contract.[11]

International career

Sarkic represented Montenegro U17 at the 2013 UEFA European Under-17 Championship.[4] On 19 November 2019, he made his debut for the Montenegrin national team under coach Faruk Hadžibegić in a 2–0 friendly win against Belarus.[12]

Personal life

Sarkic was born in Grimsby, Lincolnshire.[13] His father Bojan Šarkić is a Montenegrin diplomat who, as of October 2017, is the country's ambassador to the European Union. He has previously served as the ambassador to United Kingdom and Belgium. His mother Natalie Šarkić-Todd works at a European media network. Matija has a twin brother Oliver Sarkic with whom he played alongside during his spell at Anderlecht.[14]

Career statistics

As of match played 29 December 2019

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition

Club	Season	League			FA Cup		EFL Cup		Other		Total
		Division	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Aston Villa	2017–18[15]	Championship	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
	2018–19[16]	Championship	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
	2019–20[17]	Premier League	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
	Total		0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Wigan Athletic (loan)	2017–18[15]	League One	0	0	2	0	0	0	1[lower-alpha 1]	0	3	0
Stratford Town (loan)	2018–19[18]	Southern League Premier Division Central	6	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	6	0
Havant & Waterlooville (loan)	2018–19[16]	National League	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0
Livingston (loan)	2019–20[17]	Scottish Premiership	14	0	0	0	4	0	0	0	18	0
Career total			21	0	2	0	4	0	1	0	28	0

1. Appearance in EFL Trophy

References

1. "Club list of registered players: As at 19th May 2018: Aston Villa" (PDF). English Football League. p. 2. Retrieved 16 June 2018.
2. "Matija Sarkic: Overview". ESPN. Retrieved 27 July 2020.
3. "Matija Sarkic: Overview". Premier League. Retrieved 27 July 2020.
4. "Aston Villa sign goalkeeper Matija Sarkic from Anderlecht". ESPN. 1 September 2015. Retrieved 4 November 2017.
5. "Who is Matija Sarkic: Quick lowdown on the Aston Villa substitute against Reading". Birmingham Mail. 15 April 2017. Retrieved 4 November 2017.
6. "Alex Bruce and Matija Sarkic: Wigan Athletic sign centre-back and goalkeeper". BBC Sport. 31 August 2017. Retrieved 4 November 2017.
7. "Two new faces at Stratford Town". Stratford Herald. 20 December 2018.
8. "Matija Sarkic: Livingston sign Aston Villa goalkeeper on loan". BBC Sport. 26 June 2019. Retrieved 26 June 2019.
9. Carson, Callum (3 January 2020). "Aston Villa recall keeper Matija Sarkic from Livingston following injury to first choice Tom Heaton". Daily Record. Retrieved 3 January 2020.
10. "Premier League clubs publish 2019/20 released lists". Premier League. 25 June 2020. Retrieved 25 June 2020.
11. "Wolves secure Sarkic transfer". Wolverhampton Wanderers F.C. 27 July 2020. Retrieved 27 July 2020.
12. Vukotić, Danilo (19 November 2019). "Pobjeda za kraj godine" [Victory for the end of the year]. fscg.me (in Montenegrin). Montenegrin Football Association. Retrieved 19 November 2019.
13. Cusick, Aiden. "New signing Oliver Sarkic tweets for first time since joining Leeds United".
14. "Meet the Sarkic twins: born in England, raised in Belgium but trying to make Montenegro history". The Independent. 3 October 2017. Retrieved 4 November 2017.
15. "Games played by Matija Sarkic in 2017/2018". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 3 January 2018.
16. "Games played by Matija Sarkic in 2018/2019". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 13 July 2019.
17. "Games played by Matija Sarkic in 2019/2020". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 13 July 2019.

External links

• Matija Sarkic at Soccerway