In an interview with Belgian French-language source Walfoot, Burton Albion striker Oliver Sarkic opens up on his time in English football and mentions the frustrations of his time at Leeds United.
Sarkic was one of a wave of young players brought over by Leeds United from big clubs on the continent. In his case, he was brought to Elland Road on a free transfer deal from Portuguese giants Benfica.
It didn’t work out for him at Elland Road, despite impressing in Carlos Corberan’s Under-23s. The Montenegran youth international was shipped out to Spain on loan with third-tier side Barakaldo CF for whom he scored once in 12 games.
A return to Leeds at the end of June 2019 saw an almost-immediate move to League One side Burton Albion where the youngster has brewed up a storm for the third-tier side.
Across all competitions, this season, the Grimsby-born youngster, who first made his name at Anderlecht as a youth player, has scored 5 goals and created a tidy 10 assists. These assists include one in each of four EFL Cup games, including against Premier League outfits Leicester City and Bournemouth.
When asked about this explosion in output, Sarkic is quick to praise the chances that he got under Nigel Clough at Burton, calling him “an incredible coach” and one that “put me back in the saddle.” However, he also comments back about how things could have been different.
He says of this explosion of form that: “I would have liked it to take place in Leeds.” On the topic of Leeds, it is easy to sense the frustration that he feels about leaving. He comments that he took part in only training sessions under Marcelo Bielsa but that Bielsa’s methods caught his eye. On this, he adds: “He’s a great coach, I really would have liked to work with him.”
It wasn’t to be. Although he feels as though he took a backward step joining Burton Albion, Oliver Sarkic has had an encouraging season. Now he’s ready to take two steps forward with the Brewers.
