BURTON Albion have signed Oliver Sarkic on a contract until the end of the season after the striker left Leeds United.
The 22-year-old Montenegro youth international impressed during a trial in our 5-2 win over Chesterfield last weekend and despite having offers from abroad, has opted to put pen-to-paper at the Pirelli Stadium.
Sarkic, who has scored three goals in seven games for Montenegro U21s, began his youth career in Belgium with Anderlecht before joining Portuguese side Benfica in 2014.
The forward was snapped up by Leeds United, initially on loan, in 2017 before joining permanently the following January and becoming a regular for the Whites’ under-23s side, before heading out on loan to Barakaldo in the Spanish second division last season.
Now Sarkic adds to the Brewers’ forward options as we prepare for the 2019/20 Sky Bet League One season, which begins on Saturday at home to Ipswich Town.
Sarkic said: “I loved the game at Chesterfield. I hadn't previously seen many League One games and I hadn't expected us to play such good football so I was pleasantly surprised. It's the type of football I like to play. I really enjoyed it and everything seemed to click into place.
"I'm really impatient to make my mark on English football. Injuries and other circumstances mean I have been quite unfortunate in the last year and a half but now I'm ready to show what I can do."
Manager Nigel Clough said: “We saw him in training on Friday and the game on Saturday and we thought he showed enough to feel that he can help us out this season. He has had a rough 18 months or so and he’s looking to rebuild his career a little bit.
“He has had offers from abroad, but he wants to stay in England, and he’s enjoyed his few days with us.
“As we are a bit short on forward players, he will be a good addition for us. He has certainly got ability and we saw straight away his link-up with Liam Boyce and there were some good things considering he hasn’t played for a few months.
“It’s going to take some time for him to get up to speed so that will be the priority for him as we go through August.”