As Sunderland hunt for a new striker, their scouting team is clearly working overtime to locate the next best talent across Europe, and Matija Frigan is on their radar.
Sunderland may be more focused on developing their own young talent at home via the academy, but the club has succeeded of late in finding obscure players in the transfer market.
It would seem the next priority for Sunderland is to sign a new striker, and a number of names have been mooted as potential targets for Regis Le Bris.
One name most fans are probably unfamiliar with is Matija Frigan, but Sunderland AFC News has compiled a full report on everything you need to know about the Croatian starlet.
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Matija Frigan’s career has taken off in Belgium
Frigan began his career in his native Croatia, coming through the ranks at HNK Rijeka. As he progressed through the various age groups there, with loan spells at NK Orijent and Hrv Dragovoljac in between, the marksman slowly but surely made a name for himself.
The 2022/23 campaign was the real breakthrough for Frigan, though, with 15 goals in 31 games across the season in all competitions.
This form led to a move to Belgium, with Frigan joining KVC Westerlo for roughly £4.6m in the summer of 2023.
| Club | Appearances | Goals | Assists | Time at club |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| KVC Westerlo | 53 | 12 | 4 | 2023-present |
| HNK Rijeka | 32 | 15 | 3 | 2018-2023 |
| HNK Orijent Rijeka | 15 | 4 | 2 | 2022 |
| NK Hrvatski Dragovoljac | 15 | 3 | 1 | 2021-2022 |
Last season, Frigan managed just five goals in 31 games, but this year, the 21-year-old has been on fire. As we hit the halfway stage of the campaign, Frigan already has seven goals to his name, leading to a mass of interest heading his way.
What’s been said about Sunderland’s interest in Matija Frigan?
While Sunderland have been linked with higher profile names like Tom Cannon, Ben Brereton-Diaz, and Louie Barry in January, the emergence of an interest in Matija Frigan came as something of a surprise.
Sunderland are thought to be taking a ‘serious look’ at the 21-year-old, though the nature of any potential deal is currently unknown.
Indeed, it is not even clear whether Frigan is a player Sunderland are looking to sign now, or if he will be a player they line up for the summer window instead, once we know what league the Black Cats will be playing in next season.
Sunderland were linked with Frigan back in the summer of 2023 before he joined Westerlo, but with his recent development, the Black Cats are clearly keen to see if they missed out on a real gem at the time.
His current contract runs to 2028, but Westerlo may well look to cash in and make a profit on the striker if they can.
What kind of player is Matija Frigan?
Matija Frigan is primarily a centre-forward, but he can play out wide on the right or the left when called upon.
The Croatian is better-suited to playing on the ground, with a real talent for clever through balls and link-up play with those around him. Frigan is great at holding up play, has real vision, and moves intelligently off the ball to get into goalscoring areas.
However, he is not very effective in the air and will often lose aerial duels. Granted, the Sunderland squad do not often play the high ball and headers are not their main source of goals, so that wouldn’t be much of an issue in the current system.
Frigan also has a propensity for disciplinary issues, committing fouls often and losing his cool at times. This is more of an issue higher up the pitch when pressing from the front, as Frigan will very rarely track back and offer any defensive support.
Matija Frigan age, height, and personal information
Matija Frigan was born in Rijeka, Croatia, on February 11, 2003, making him 21-years-old at the time of writing.
He stands at 1.85m tall and weighs 77kg. He is a fairly sturdy, well-built forward, but would not be described as physically imposing.
You can find Matija Frigan on Instagram, where has over 18k followers, but he is not active on any other social media platform.