Player Analysis: Sinisa Sanicanin vs Celtic defenders

Sinisa Sanicanin plays for  FK Vojvodina Novi Sad, who are currently in 3rd place in the Serbian SuperLiga. He is a 6′ 3″, 25-year-old, left-footed centre-back whose stock has been on the rise over the past year. In 2020, he made his debut internationally for Bosnia & Herzegovina and has already made 8 appearances for them. And he has been linked with Celtic in recent weeks.

With Celtic looking likely to lose Kristoffer Ajer in the summer, a new centre-back is required to play on the left hand side. Sanicanin’s contract is up at the end of the season making him an economical option.

Celtic require a centre-back that’s comfortable on the ball while also providing solidity at the back. We have had a look at the data behind Sanicanin’s performances this season and compared them to the current crop of Celtic centre-backs.

All data used comes from Wyscout and is shown as per 90:

Defensive Data

Below is the Defensive Duel & Aerial Duel Success percentage for Sanicanin & the Celtic centre-backs:

Sanicanin – 70% & 66.3%

Ajer – 75.7% & 67.5%%

Jullien – 77.5% & 67.2%

Duffy – 71.1% & 92.9%

Sanicanic seems to be lacking a bit in the defensive duel success rate but is close to the aerial duel success rate to Ajer and Jullien. It must be noted that his current team are neither as good nor as dominant as Celtic in games. This makes judging centre-backs especially difficult, but defensively it appears he would be more than capable.

At the end of the day, these stats would suggest that Duffy has been brilliant for the Hoops but the story has been very different.

Offensive Data

To try and view how Sanicanin will be offensively, we have looked at Progressive Runs & Accurate Pass percentage to the final 3rd. These are important qualities a Celtic centre-back must use each game:

Sanicanin – 1.33 & 59.1%

Ajer – 4.85 & 83%

Jullien – 1.13 & 65.2%

Duffy – 1.65 & 74.6%

Offensively Sanicanin is generally weaker than what Celtic have based on the data. This could be down to playing in a weaker team though which makes attacking actions more difficult, or maybe he is just a weaker player on the attacking end.

Again, difficulty in judging this can be demonstrated through Duffy who may appear good in both these metrics but it is, in fact, a large weakness in his game. On the other hand Ajer’s data is at elite level which matches with his performances. This shows the importance of using both data and visual examination for judging players. From watching Sanicanin, he appears competent on the ball.

Should Celtic sign him?

Sanicanin would be a low risk option for Celtic in a position that we require depth in. He is coming from a weaker league and team so will need to step up a level much like he has done at international level.

It’s worth noting that Jozo Simunovic could never break into the Bosnian national team, so it’s likely Sanicanin is a better player. He is also left-footed, which is rare and would help Celtic quicken our build up play from the back which is a big positive. For free it seems like a no brainer even if he ends up being 3rd or 4th choice, as he is a very experienced player and young as well, meaning he can fetch a transfer fee in the future.