Third winter signing for FC Schalke 04: Dejan Ljubicic is very likely to join from Dinamo Zagreb.

FC Schalke 04 is attacking the Bundesliga: After Edin Dzeko (AC Florence) and substitute goalkeeper Kevin Müller (1. FC Heidenheim), the third winter signing is as good as certain. Dejan Ljubicic is coming from Croatian first division club Dinamo Zagreb.

The Croatian newspaper Sportske Novosti and Sky were the first to report the news. According to Croatian media reports, Ljubicic will cost around one million euros and is expected to sign a three-year contract after undergoing a medical examination at the weekend.

Dejan Ljubicic, who is he? The Austrian trained as a footballer at Rapid Vienna and turned professional. He wore the Rapid jersey from 2006 to 2021, an impressive 15 years. He played in 131 competitive games for Rapid (8 goals, 10 assists). For the 2021/2022 season, he transferred to 1. FC Köln, where he was expected to play as a classic defensive midfielder. Under coach Steffen Baumgart, however, he developed into a strong-running midfield all-rounder who also played in other positions. He played 83 times for Cologne in the Bundesliga (8 goals, 4 assists) and 27 times in the second division (4 goals, 3 assists). At one point, his market value was ten million euros.

But when his contract expired, he left Cologne-Müngersdorf and moved to Zagreb to play in Europe. “Thank you to everyone who supported me – through the best days and the hardest nights,” he wrote upon leaving FC.

However, things did not go so well for him in Zagreb. Although his team is at the top of the table, he lost his place in the starting lineup in October. Since then, he has spent three league games on the bench and has been substituted three times. His market value has now fallen to three million euros.

What Schalke coach Muslic has in common with Ljubicic

Now he is apparently ready for another change. According to Sky, this decision is also based on “family reasons.” Interestingly, he has something in common with S04 coach Miron Muslic in that he is Austrian but has roots in Bosnia-Herzegovina.