Matija Sarkic

Matija Šarkić (born 23 July 1997) is a professional footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for Premier League club Aston Villa. Born in England to a Montenegrin father and a British mother, Šarkić was later raised in Belgium and came through the academy of Anderlecht before signing with Aston Villa in 2015. He has represented the Montenegro national football team at youth level and on 19 November 2019, he made his debut for the senior national team.

Matija Šarkić
Personal information
Full name Matija Šarkić [1]
Date of birth (1997-07-23) 23 July 1997[2]
Place of birth Grimsby, England[3]
Playing position(s) Goalkeeper
Club information
Current team
 Aston Villa
Number 31
Youth career
0000–2015 Anderlecht
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2015– 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)
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)

Club career

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]

On 25 June 2020, it was announced that Sarkic would be released by Aston Villa at the end of the current season.[10]

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.[11]

Personal life

Sarkic's 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.[12]

Career statistics
As of match played 29 December 2019
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League FA Cup League Cup Other Total
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Aston Villa 2017–18[13] Championship 0000000000
2018–19[14] Championship 0000000000
2019–20[15] Premier League 0000000000
Total 0000000000
Wigan Athletic (loan) 2017–18[13] League One 0020001[lower-alpha 1]030
Stratford Town (loan) 2018–19[16] Southern Premier Central 6000000060
Havant & Waterlooville (loan) 2018–19[14] National League 1000000010
Livingston (loan) 2019–20[15] Scottish Premiership 140004000180
Career total 210204010280
  1. Appearance in the 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. "M. Šarkić: Summary". Soccerway. Perform Group. Retrieved 16 June 2018.
  3. Cusick, Aiden. "New signing Oliver Šarkić tweets for first time since joining Leeds United".
  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. 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.
  12. "Meet the Sarkic twins: born in England, raised in Belgium but trying to make Montenegro history". Independent. 3 October 2017. Retrieved 4 November 2017.
  13. "Games played by Matija Sarkic in 2017/2018". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 3 January 2018.
  14. "Games played by Matija Sarkic in 2018/2019". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 13 July 2019.
  15. "Games played by Matija Sarkic in 2019/2020". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 13 July 2019.
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