Potential Birmingham transfer boost on 24-year-old emerges ahead of summer window

Wolverhampton Wanderers goalkeeping coach Tony Roberts has admitted he would rather see Matija Sarkic go out on loan to the Championship again rather than remaining behind others in the pecking order at Molineux, speaking to Birmingham Live.

The Montenegro international arrived at Birmingham City on a temporary spell in July and was one of the first names on the teamsheet with Neil Etheridge being hospitalised with Covid-19 during the summer.

It took a while for Etheridge to recover from this health issue and with this, Sarkic had a real opportunity to impress, a chance he grabbed with both hands as he established himself as one of the West Midlands side’s most important assets.

Even when the Thai international returned, he was benched by Lee Bowyer in favour of the 24-year-old, though the latter’s season came to an unfortunate end when he dislocated his shoulder in January.

With the summer now approaching though, he will either be looking to force his way into Bruno Lage’s first-team plans during pre-season or spend another season out on loan after impressing at St Andrew’s.

And if he isn’t going to be a regular at his current side, Wolves’ coach Roberts would prefer to see the shot-stopper win regular minutes elsewhere.

He said: “We’ll see what happens now at the end of the season and see what his development plan is going to be, whether he stays here or goes out on loan again.

“With his quality, I wouldn’t want him sitting here being number three or number two, he’s a good enough goalkeeper to go and play in the Championship.

“He’s a full international. For his progression, he needs to play and get tested every week.”

The Verdict:

Sarkic would probably be well-served moving to the second tier again because at 24, he