Football writers all over Britain were yesterday on the scramble for superlative adjectives to describe someone over 2m tall, as Birmingham City waste little time in adding to their squad for next season’s Premier League with the signing of 6 foot 8 Valencia centre-forward Nikola Zigic on a four year deal.
Although the transfer fee is “undisclosed”, reports have established the amount in the region of £6m, which, given that the cash-strapped Spanish club had previously paid £13.5m for the Serbian’s services, is something of a bargain.
Alex McLeish, in the market for a front man following Cristian Benitez’s return to parent club Santos Laguna after a season-long loan deal which saw the Ecuadorian score a mere 4 goals in 38 games for the Blues, will be looking for more firepower upfront after a fantastic season which saw the club finish ninth in the Premier League, despite, somewhat bizarrely, never winning a game by more than a single goal.
Losing out in a move for Roman Pavlyuchenko in the January transfer window has only made Big Eck more determined to bag a forward, it seems, and Zigic’s size and stature will not only be perfect for the rigours of the Premier League, he will be the ideal target man as part of the 4-4-2 system which served Birmingham so well last season.
The Statistics
Zigic started off with a couple of local clubs in his native country before joining Red Star Belgrade; there, he helped himself to an impressive 71 goals in 110 games in all competitions, illustrating a keen eye for goal that saw the larger European leagues come calling.
He joined Racing Santander in 2006, netting an impressive 12 times in 32 games for the club before making his way to Valencia the following season. His time at the Mestalla was something of a failure, however, as a combination of both the form of a certain David Villa and the club’s liking for lone striker systems kept him out of the side. Although his time there was from 2007-2010, Zigic played a mere 28 league games, grabbing just 5 goals, with many of his appearances coming from the subs bench.
During his time at Valencia, Zigic was loaned back to his former club in the 2008-09 season, and subsequently showed his prowess, netting 13 times in just 19 matches before once again, returning to the sidelines under his parent club.
His record for the Serbian national side is more indicative of Zigic’s capabilities when playing under a manager with faith in him; 16 goals in 42 games. His performances have also seen Zigic voted Serbian Player of the Year in 2003, 2005 and 2006.
The Prospects
Any 2009-10 season review will establish that Birmingham’s defence was fundamental to their success, and as the figures show, they certainly needed to be; despite their brilliant ninth-placed finish, the Blues mustered a mere 38 league goals all season, an average of one goal per game, bettering the total of only five other teams.
Every one of the relegated teams scored more goals at home than McLeish’s men, and although Birmingham are less of an attacking team than most, in part this was down to poor finishing.
Between them, Benitez and Cameron Jerome -Birmingham’s first-choice front men- had 121 shots at goal, scoring 13 goals in return. Given that Darren Bent managed 109 shots at goal and scored 24 times as a result, it’s not hard to see that a more lethal finisher could have made the season an even more successful one for McLeish’s team. With Jerome scoring 10 of the 13, it’s no real surprise that Benitez, despite his graft, was allowed to return to his parent club.
Zigic, it seems, is the goalscorer McLeish has been looking for, and will be expected not just to grab a decent goal haul, but help with a few assists with his height giving him the perfect advantage for knockdowns to alert team mates in and around the penalty box. In terms of Fantasy Premier League (FPL), perhaps the Blues lack of goals last season may actually help keep Zigic’s starting price relatively low; somewhere in the region of £5.5m to £6.5m seems likely.
Birmingham fans and FPL managers alike will get the perfect chance to run the run over the hitman this summer, with Serbia competing in Group D in the World Cup, alongside Australia, Germany and Ghana.