With the news published by Eintracht on Tuesday morning, the club confirmed a secret that had been open for months: Hrvoje Smolcic is the next addition to strengthen the football team for the coming season.

Marc Heinrich

sports editor.

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The 21-year-old Croatian most recently wore the shirt of the HNK Rijeka club, where, despite his relative youth, he was already one of the defining characters of the team and captained them in the 1. HNL, Croatia's top division.

Smolcic's preferred area of ​​action is central defense - a part of the team in which Eintracht is now lavishly manned.

Agreement already in winter

Smolcic has also been called up on the left wing for games involving his home country's U21 side, a position Filip Kostic is counted on to play.

If Eintracht has its way, the internationally courted Serb will soon extend his contract.

But in the event that an immoral offer should come in and Kostic's departure would be compensated with a lot of money a year before the end of the contract period on June 30, 2023, Eintracht is arming itself with new staff.

In addition to Smolcic, she has already hired Faride Alidou from HSV, who (so far only in the second division) has indicated his talent on the flank.

In addition, central defender Jérôme Onguéné (from Salzburg) and striker Randal Kolo Muani (FC Nantes) are two professionals who, thanks to their stature, should help the team to gain more physical strength.

Smolcic is 1.85 meters tall and weighs 80 kilos;

Eintracht had come to an agreement with him in the winter, as was heard early on from the club environment in Rijeka.

Crouch "proud"

For Markus Krösche, the youngster is an all-rounder with great potential: "We are proud that we were able to convince a highly talented defender like Hrvoje Smolcic to go our way," commented Eintracht's sporting director on the deal.

"With him, we know that from the summer we will not only have a tackle player in our ranks, but also a technically strong player who can be used flexibly on the defensive."

Nothing was said in the announcement about the amount of the transfer fee;

Sources in Croatia, on the other hand, quote sums as transfer compensation that range between two and three million euros, similar to Kristijan Jakic, who was hired permanently at the weekend.

Smolcic's working paper is dated mid-2027.

And Krösche emphasized that Eintracht, as in the past with Tuta and Evan Ndicka, who are undisputed greats today, will bring patience.

Smolcic should be introduced to the tasks at his first station abroad with a sense of proportion.

"He gets all the time and support for integration from us," said Krösche.

Preparations for Smolcic with future colleagues will start on Monday, June 27th.