Why Niko Sigur chose to commit to Canada instead of Croatia + PLAYER ANALYSIS
After an exciting summer of action on the field for the CanMNT, they got a big boost off the field this week, as they look to have secured the long-term commitment of a crucial dual-national.
Per a statement released by the Croatian federation, 20-year-old Niko Sigur, who plays at Hajduk Split and has made several appearances for Croatian youth teams, has decided to join the CanMNT long-term.
Huge late-night #CanMNT news, as🇭🇷/🇨🇦dual-national Niko Sigur looks to have filed a switch to🇨🇦after representing🇭🇷's youth teams
— Alexandre Gangué-Ruzic (@AlexGangueRuzic) August 21, 2024
Per the HNS website (!), Sigur says: "I want to represent the country where I grew up and started my football career, Canada"https://t.co/lsstev5j1s pic.twitter.com/HEFs8E4Qo7
Born and raised in Burnaby, British Columbia, Sigur spent his formative years in Canada, which included stints in the Vancouver Whitecaps academy as a youngster, a summer with League 1 Ontario side Vaughan Azzurri, and a season with the York University Lions in U SPORTS in 2021, before he eventually made the jump to Europe in 2022.
There, he blossomed after eventually settling with Croatian giants Hajduk Split’s youth teams, having facilitated the move thanks to his Croatian passport. There, he progressed quickly and made his first team debut for the club in 2023, which led him to be called into Croatia’s squad for the U21 Euros that summer, before retaining his spot in that U21 team for the next cycle as he became a full-time Hajduk Split regular.
Then, thanks to his continued progress in his second season with Hajduk Split, he’s even started to earn consideration as a long-term option for Croatia’s first team, too, earning call-ups to their long-list for some camps, an indication that he was on the cusp of committing to them long-term.
In a surprise twist, however, CanMNT head coach Jesse Marsch looks to have secured Sigur’s commitment in a huge coup for his team. A team that is growing stronger by the day with the continued progress of several key players, some of which made landmark transfers this summer, it remains in need of a boost at several key positions, and none more than in midfield.
Given that Sigur’s main position is as a defensive midfielder, Canada’s biggest need in the midfield, it’s a massive coup, especially if Sigur continues to develop and fulfills the potential he’s shown across the last few years.
Yet, this could very well be the start of what’s to come in terms of Marsch’s dual-national recruitment quest. Off the back of a successful Copa América run, and with a home World Cup coming up, the prospect of playing for Canada has never seemed more enticing, and that Sigur looks to have chosen Canada over Croatia shows that.
Sticking with Sigur, however, here’s a look at what to expect from Canada’s newest potential dual-national recruit as he gets set to don the Red and White going forward.
Diving into Sigur’s profile:
Firstly, the big thing to note about Sigur? His style of play, as he has all of the tools to thrive as a midfielder in the modern game.
Profiled as more of a defensive midfielder, he’s a lively and aggressive defender, but is also comfortable in possession and a strong ball progressor, too, which is often what coaches want out of #6’s in the modern game, as they need to be able to impact the game on both sides of the ball.
I knew I had this photo somewhere!
— Ben Steiner (@BenSteiner00) August 21, 2024
🇭🇷🇨🇦Niko Sigur, the newest dual-national to commit to playing for Canada with a 118th-minute winning goal in the OUA men's soccer playoffs for the York Lions v Ryerson Rams in 2021.
Now a long-term outlook piece for the #CanMNT https://t.co/1LqWOeRttN pic.twitter.com/U5NFABLPaU
Those skills allow him to be flexible and versatile, too, which is likely why he broke into Hajduk Split’s first team as a full back, as he was trusted with the challenge of playing as a wide defender despite his inexperience at the professional level.
No doubt, however, that he profiles best in the midfield, as he’s got the size, physicality and skill to thrive as more of a #6, one who can dominate central areas.
Certainly, his coaches at Hajduk Split have realized that, as he started to play a lot more centrally in 2023-2024, making 18 starts as a midfielder and 18 at right back after playing exclusively as a right back in 2022-2023.
When watching him play centrally, one can see why he profiles to play that position long-term, too.
Just look at his stats from his appearances as a midfielder in the Croatian League last year, in which he averaged 87.7% of his passes, which included an average of over 5.29 passes into the final third per 90, while also winning 65.7% of his defensive duels, averaging 3.44 interceptions and 9.42 recoveries per 90.
By comparison, he was similarly effective at right back, but was slightly quieter offensively, averaging 85.2% of his passes, including 4.62 passes into the final third, but was more effective defensively, winning 67.6% of his duels, completing 4.68 interceptions and 9.06 recoveries per 90.
That shows why it makes sense to slot him in as a midfielder, as often, right backs in the modern game need to combine strong defensive presence with final-third output, the latter of which hasn’t been Sigur’s game - he has just 0.02 xG and 0.04 xA per 90 across his Croatian League career, showing that he’s not one to get involved with the final shot or pass on most actions.
As a defensive midfielder, however, he doesn’t need to be as influential in the final third as long as he gets the ball there thanks to his defending and ball progression, and as seen by his passing and defending numbers as a midfielder, he tends to do that.
All of that’s backed up by the eye test, as well. When watching back one of Sigur’s appearances in midfield, he showed that he has an eye for a good progressive pass, picking out several dangerous line-breaking balls on several occasions. Naturally, he also played a lot of safe passes, especially to start the game, which is to be expected from a defensive midfielder in a cagey match, but then he grew more and more comfortable on the ball as he got involved.
As he did that, he started to show more and more skill, which indicates it’s more of a comfort and familiarity thing for Sigur in terms of his passing game, who will only get better as a passer and a progressor as he gets more reps at this level in his natural position. Given that he’s already got solid passing numbers, as he also completed 60% of his 3.34 long pass attempts and averaged over 11 forward passes per game as a midfielder last season, that’s encouraging to see from him.
And on the flip side, he’s also shown to be a good defender, too. In particular, he thrives when playing aggressively, doing well to carve out passing lanes and engaging in duels, spending most of the game defending on the front foot. He’ll only grow in that area, too, as his aggression nearly got him in trouble a few times, but it’s easier to rein in aggression than to turn a passive defender into an aggressive one, so he’s already on the right track in that regard.
Therefore, there’s lots to like with his profile as a defensive midfielder. A key position in the modern game, he has the attributes one would want from such a player and will look to further hone them going forward.
Where does he fit for Canada?
Now, of course, the bigger question for Sigur is figuring out where he best slots in under Marsch.
Naturally, one will expect him to slot in midfield, given that Canada is quite set at right back, where they can deploy Alistair Johnston, Richie Laryea and Tajon Buchanan, so Marsch will not likely be thinking of deploying Sigur centrally unless something happens to all of those three.
There, Canada’s depth is a lot thinner. They brought six midfielders to this summer’s Copa América, Stephen Eustáquio, Ismaël Koné, Samuel Piette, Ali Ahmed, Jonathan Osorio and Mathieu Choinière, but of those six, only three, Eustáquio, Koné and Osorio, played regularly, and one, Piette, didn’t play at all.
For those unfamiliar with Niko Sigur, he's a 20 y/o at Hajduk Split, where he has ~50 appearances
— Alexandre Gangué-Ruzic (@AlexGangueRuzic) August 21, 2024
He's a #6 (#CanMNT position of need) who came through as a RB for HS's first team, but has started to play more DM over the last 16 months
Could be a key add for Jesse Marsch
That should change going forward, as Choinière and Ahmed thrived in auditions later in the tournament, but it’s worth noting that doesn’t change one issue Canada has had for a while - they lack true defensive midfielders, as Choinière and Ahmed are more box-to-box midfielders. Among that group of six, only Eustáquio and Piette can slot in at the defensive midfield position comfortably, and even Eustáquio profiles better as a box-to-box midfielder given his ability to impact the game in the final third with his final actions and late runs.
With Piette now 29 and coming off not playing at all this tournament, one can wonder how beneficial it’d be to have a long-term option to look at in defensive midfield, which could then free up Eustáquio to play more aggressively like he tends to do with Porto.
Sigur could help provide that, and one could argue that his style fits quite seamlessly with Eustáquio in a double-pivot, as both can defend as defensive midfielders, but then in possession, Eustáquio could push forward more while Sigur drops into the middle and tries to push the ball up the field as a deep ball progressor, much like Eustáquio and Ismaël Koné did when they played together this summer.
Of course, the big question to watch there would be what to do with Koné, as Marsch has typically only stuck with a 4-2-2-2 or a 4-2-3-1 formation, the former of which would squeeze him out, but the latter could be key to making it all work.
In particular, the template to watch is Canada’s last game of Copa América, where they fell to Uruguay on penalties in an entertaining game. There, Canada used a 4-2-3-1 for the first time under Marsch, with Choinière and Konè sitting in a pivot underneath Osorio, which worked wonders for their offensive game.
When seeing that, one can’t help but think of a scenario where Eustáquio and Sigur play as #6’s together in the 4-2-3-1, freeing up Koné to play as more of a #10. Given that Koné is rumoured to be playing as more of a #10 in a 4-2-3-1 under Roberto De Zerbi going forward at Marseille, that idea makes a lot of sense and could get the best out of the three.
Because of that, keep an eye on Sigur as he looks to win that place in midfield. It won’t be easy, as Marsch has a lot of flexibility if he chooses to use a 4-2-3-1 going forward, knowing that Osorio, Choinière and Ahmed all could have key roles to play in that formation, but there’s no doubt that Sigur’s arrival fills a key need deeper in midfield, one that only Eustáquio can fill.
Otherwise, one last thing worth noting is the level that Sigur is at, which will be interesting to compare when he gets into camp. Per UEFA’s league coefficients, Croatia currently rates slightly lower than Scotland and higher than Sweden, so it’s hard to say how he’ll stack up to the likes of Koné and Eustáquio at tier-one clubs, Ahmed and Osorio in MLS, or Choinière (reportedly) in the Swiss league (which rates slightly higher than Croatia in the coefficient.)
At the same time, it’s worth noting that Sigur’s playing for one of the top clubs in Croatia, which is key for someone playing in the leagues in that #8 to #30 range of UEFA’s league coefficients. Ultimately, he’ll be at a club expected to compete for trophies and push into UEFA competition next year, which is a strong level for him to be at, so he fits into Canada’s midfield mix already and should be ready for first-team minutes right away.
Plus, given that he’s almost racked up 50 appearances in the league at just 20 years of age, it’s not far-fetched to imagine that he could potentially push into a club in the top five leagues in the future, too, something that several top young players from Croatia tend to do.
All of that’s key, as that means Marsch doesn’t just get a player who can contribute right now at a position of need, but one who also has plenty of upside to join the wave of Canadians pushing into the top five leagues, which is likely why his name was at the top of his dual-national list.
What’s next?
Speaking of that list, however, it’ll be intriguing to see if Sigur kicks off the start of a wave of dual-national commitments for Canada.
Sources informed me months ago that the #CanMNT door was not closed for Niko Sigur. If Sigur is not injured, it’s very interesting that he was not called into the Croatian squad or their U-21 squad 🇨🇦 https://t.co/RbeIdAtxIo
— Josh Deming (@tv_jjd) August 19, 2024
Certainly, Marsch has got his eye on several, as he mentioned earlier this summer to Sportsnet that he was tracking around 10 dual-nationals, including three or four that could be key to his project.
Given how big of a need Canada had in defensive midfield, and how close he was to Croatia, one has to imagine Sigur was on that list, but the big question is who the others are.
Certainly, Luca Koleosho looks to be a big one, and is probably the biggest name to watch, as the US, Italy and Nigeria-eligible winger has gotten off to a good start to the Championship season for Burnley and showed last year that he can play at the Premier League level before an injury stopped a promising campaign. Given his age and experience, it feels like a fierce battle will be brewing for his commitment, one that Marsch will be looking to secure given that Canada isn’t flush with depth out wide.
Jesse Marsch is tracking 10 dual-nats, stating that a few could help this team now. Here are some potential options.
— Josh Deming (@tv_jjd) July 15, 2024
Luca Koleosho, Daniel Jebbison, Niko Sigur, Mo Farsi, Promise David, Lucas Pos, Simon Colyn, Justin Smith, Luka Kulenović and Santiago López. Also Ryan Gauld 🇨🇦
Otherwise, Daniel Jebbison remains the other big name, as the England youth international has made some big strides over the past few months after his 2023-2024 campaign was derailed for health reasons, and could be a key addition up front.
Elsewhere, some names to watch are Promise David, who is a Canadian and Nigerian eligible forward who has gotten off to a good start to this season with Belgian side Union St-Gilloise after a summer transfer, while Santiago López is also one to watch, as the Pumas UNAM youngsters impressed with Canada at the U20 Concacaf Championships and has first-team experience for Pumas in Liga MX.
Those are just some of the well-known names, too, as sometimes dual-nationals can seemingly drop out of nowhere, which Canada has seen first-hand with a name like Iké Ugbo, whose commitment to Canada in 2021 caught many by surprise given that his eligibility for Canada wasn’t well known.
When seeing Marsch refer to a list of 10 dual-nationals, it feels like there could be a surprise or two on there, which could be key, especially if they fill other positions of need.
Because of that, it feels like this won’t be the only big dual-national commitment Canada secures before the start of the World Cup, as more could be convinced by the chance to play under Marsch in the lead-up to that tournament.
Now that the ball’s gotten rolling on one, it’ll be hoped that more are to follow, which would be key long-term as Canada looks to make the next step as a program after a promising summer.
