Balkan football expert Richard Wilson says Aberdeen can get value for money if they focus their attention on European signing targets like Tonio Teklic and Ester Sokler.
The Dons are in talks to bring Croatian midfielder Tonio Teklic and Slovenian striker Ester Sokler to Pittodrie as manager Barry Robson bids to strengthen his squad.
History of Yugoslav Football podcast host Wilson, who has served as a scout in the region, is not surprised to see Aberdeen looking at Eastern European markets.
He said: “It’s one of the few places where you can still get decent value.
“We have seen the likes of Borna Barisic, Nikola Katic and Eros Grezda make the move to Rangers when they did their shopping there.
“Potentially the Croatian market might have been a little bit of a push for other clubs, but with so many clubs now getting access to the group stages of European football, it has opened up that region.
“For players and agents in particular, the slightly weaker and more diluted work permit regulations in Scotland make it a more appealing option compared to previously when they would have been more likely to have been touted round the (English) Championship.”
Teklic can handle challenge of playing in Scotland
Wilson knows all about the qualities of both of Aberdeen’s Balkan targets.
Croatian Teklic, who is in the final year of his contract with Varazdin, has scored eight goals in 33 appearances for his club this season.
Wilson insists the left-footed attacking midfielder has the attributes to be a success in Scottish football.
He said: “Teklic is a little bit of a late bloomer, even though he’s only 23.
“He came through with a generation of players at Hajduk Split with a few other players, including Michele Sego and Leon Krekovic, who managed to move into the first team but never kicked on to become a regular part of the side.
“Teklic has taken the road less travelled and gone to play in the second tier with Varazdin and then moved up to the first tier with them this season.
“He’s generally playing on both wings, but – because he has had such an impressive season – he has been given the freedom to play across the forward line wherever he likes.
“It’s something you tend to see with the tactical make-up of sides in Croatia. The best players are given freedom to roam.
“He was excellent in the first half of the season and was pushing to the brink of a national team call-up.
“But as teams found Varazdin out in the second half of the season, they found him out a little bit, too.
“But there is nothing there which would worry me. It wasn’t that his form wasn’t sustainable – it was an issue for the whole squad.
“He has been linked with a move back to Hajduk as there is an element of him being the one that got away as it were, but I think moving to Scotland is definitely a better move for him in terms of his career.”
Teklic’s Croatia national team ambitions could bolster Dons’ signing hopes
Wilson believes the youth cap midfielder Teklic’s international ambitions strengthen Aberdeen’s hopes of bringing him to Scotland.
He said: “It’s very difficult for a player in the domestic league to break into the international reckoning (with Croatia) and you do have to get out of there to do that.
“I doubt if there would be huge expectations of someone from Aberdeen playing in the Croatian national side, but it would certainly be a move towards getting that recognition if he did move to Scotland.
“The thing with the Croatian league is that is not like the Scottish league.
“In Scotland, you have Rangers and Celtic then Aberdeen, Hearts and Hibs when they want to have a decent season on a par just behind them, then everyone else.
“I accept the top two in Croatia against the top two in Scotland, the best sides would be the Scottish clubs.
“But if you had the bottom six in Scotland against the bottom six of Croatia, the Croatian clubs would come out on top.
“It’s a more even league with more depth because of how Croatia has developed players over the years.
“Teklic has consistently put in performances against sides that are better than two-thirds of Scotland’s top-flight.”
‘Sokler has always had the talent’
One man who would benefit from having Teklic at Pittodrie is another Dons signing target, Sokler.
The 24-year-old striker has scored 10 goals in 30 appearances for NK Radomlje in Slovenia this term.
Wilson believes Sokler would face a fight to prove himself at Pittodrie, but is intrigued at the prospect of the attacker realising his potential in Scottish football.
He said: “There was only Maribor who were after Sokler domestically and they have signed someone else.
“From speaking to people in Slovenia, who are reputable sources, it seems to definitely be on.
“It will be interesting if it happens as he’s always had the talent.
“He gets himself into the right positions and he has been a prolific scorer in youth teams.
“The problem he has had in senior football is that the teams he has played for haven’t been very good.
“He came through at Krkso at a time when they were in big financial trouble, so his first season saw him get a lot of first team football, but the club went down.
“They were the worst team I’d seen in the league and I’m ranking them worse than a side which didn’t win a single game all season in saying that.
“He took a step down to the second tier with Brezice, which got him back into the first team scene at Celje.
“When he joined them they were in the middle of putting together an expensive project and he didn’t get a lot of game time as they were always rotating their squad.
“They didn’t have a settled side, and because of that they were relegated and he moved to Radomlje.
“The first half of the season under Nermin Basic did not go well. They won one game and were absolutely terrible.
“But they switched managers at the end of December, and under Oliver Bogatinov he has switched them on and they’ve had some excellent results.”
Sokler would benefit from better service at Pittodrie
Keeping Bojan Miovski and Duk out of the Aberdeen starting line-up would be a formidable challenge for Sokler, but Wilson believes a move to Pittodrie may bring out the best in the Radomlje striker.
He said: “The one doubt I have about him is that he relies on everyone else doing well to do well himself.
“He’s one of those players where he is pretty much anonymous in a side which is struggling.
“But if he is in a side which is doing well, he’ll do well. He needs good players around him for him to be able to play to the best of his abilities.
“He needs that supply, but obviously if he was to have Duk and Teklic on the opposite wings, he is going to have plenty of supply. That’s one big thing which might make it work.
“But it’s a naturally riskier proposition (than Teklic). I wouldn’t imagine he would be playing every week.
“The Slovenian league is of a lower standard to Croatia and it would be a step up moving to Scotland for Sokler.”
Scottish clubs have been keep to tap into Wilson’s in-depth knowledge of Balkan football
✂️✂️✂️
This is just a bit special from Tonio Teklic. Great work from Pilj to make the chance but the spectacular scissors kick sealed the three points for Varazdin.
✂️✂️✂️ pic.twitter.com/EHYpiRK8b1
— Richard Wilson (@HYFPRW) May 14, 2023
Wilson’s History of Yugolav Football podcast will celebrate its four-year anniversary in September and it is clear he remains a huge admirer of European football.
He said: “I’ve been a fan for years. During Covid I was scouting for Dundee United, not that Micky Mellon was interested in anything like that – it was English League One players he wanted.
“I got a lot more involved in the nitty gritty and understanding it a bit more.
“I got to understand the idiosyncrasies of the region as there’s a lot which is stylistically very different to what we have here.
“That was the appeal for me.”
Another plug for this one, which appeared to be cruelly overshadowed by the Ester Sokler link last night 🙄
IMO Clarkson is the single most important piece of (incoming) transfer business Aberdeen could do this summer. https://t.co/YNvGxkGrpf
— Ryan Cryle (@RyanCryle) June 12, 2023
Conversation