Martin Erlic joins Bologna

Bologna FC 1909 can confirm that defender Martin Erlic will join the Club from US Sassuolo on a permanent deal.

The fourth Croatian in the Club’s history, he is a physical centre-back with a good sense of positioning. He arrives off the back of a Euros campaign with Croatia and with four Serie A campaigns already under his belt. Born in 1998, he is good in the air and a tighter marker; he’s solid and reliable. He joined the Parma youth set-up in 2014 and, after the club’s financial trouble, he moved just a few miles away to Sassuolo where he continued to grow and with whom he eventually played in the top flight after a couple of loan spells.

He was the star of a great debut professional campaign with Südtirol at 19 and won a historic promotion to Serie A with Spezia in 2019/20, winning the playoffs and being managed by Vincenzo Italiano. He played 27 games in a centre-back pairing with either Terzi or Capradossi in a four-man backline and battled to successfully avoid relegation twice with the Aquilotti, also making his international debut for Croatia in a Nations League clash against France in June 2022. He also became a leader in defence and effective in one-on-one battles in his first season back with the Neroverdi, during which he headed off to the World Cup in Qatar with Croatia who ultimately finished third with a win over Morocco. He made 60 appearances in two seasons with Sassuolo, the latest ending in relegation after a difficult year, before joining the Rossoblù.