All you need to know on the latest promising player to be linked with Leeds United.
Leeds United’s pursuit of a left-sided centre-back could take them to Sassuolo with Tarik Muharemovic recently emerging as a potential target.
Daniel Farke is without a natural option on the left of his back three following Pascal Struijk’s £20million move to Brighton earlier this month. The position has become a real priority for Elland Road chiefs and Fabrizio Romano reported on Sunday they had ‘entered the race’ for Muharemovic.
Who is Tarik Muharemovic?
Tarik Muharemovic is one of Serie A's more physical defenders.placeholder image
Tarik Muharemovic is one of Serie A's more physical defenders. | Getty Images
Slovenian-born Muharemovic actually began his young football career in Austria, making his professional debut with top-flight side Wolfsberger AC before joining Juventus in 2021 and initially playing for their Next Gen side in the Italian third tier. The centre-back was unable to break into the first-team picture and was sent on loan to Sassuolo in 2024, who at the time were in Serie B.
Muharemovic starred at his temporary home, making 28 league appearances on the way to promotion. Sassuolo signed the centre-back permanently for €5m last year and he was able to make the step up to Serie A with relative comfort, scoring twice in 32 appearances as an 11th-place finish was secured.
Despite being born in Slovenia, Muharemovic is a fully-fledged Bosnia and Herzegovina international as it was the country of birth for both his parents. The defender made his senior debut in a 3-0 defeat against England in June 2024 and has been capped 17 times, including at this summer’s World Cup.
Tarik Muharemovic playing style
Twenty-three-year-old Muharemovic is a left-footed centre-back who, as expected, operates on the left side of defence. He played mostly in a back four with Sassuolo last season but can also be deployed in a back three - sometimes at international level with Bosnia - and is equally comfortable with either formation.
It will come as little surprise to Leeds fans, given last summer’s recruitment strategy, that Muharemovic is six-foot-four and known for his defensive physicality. The Bosnian is more than happy to engage opposition strikers and ranks highly among his Serie A peers for several defensive metrics.
According to FotMob, Muharemovic was in the top nine per cent of Serie A defenders for defensive contributions - clearances, blocks, interceptions and tackles - last season with 10.86 per 90 minutes. For reference, Struijk averaged 9.07 defensive contributions per game at Leeds during the previous campaign.
The majority of those contributions (7.05 per 90) are clearances which highlights one of Muharemovic’s biggest strengths. Despite still being just 23, the centre-back’s reading of the game is excellent and he is regularly in the perfect position to cut out a cross or match a run in behind.
Muharemovic’s physicality allows him to engage strikers and usually come up trumps, with a duel success rate of 64.4 per cent among the top 10 per cent of Serie A defenders - it’s also a significantly higher average than Struijk’s 55.6 per cent, albeit in the more challenging Premier League. The Bosnian also wins the exact same percentage of aerial duels.
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One of Struijk’s best qualities at Leeds was his passing ability and Muharemovic is comfortable on the ball. The Sassuolo man averaged 44.86 passes per 90 minutes last season at a success rate of 85.7 per cent, both of which are slightly lower than the defender he might replace who averaged 49.86 passes per game at a success rate of 88.5 per cent.
And as with virtually any defender that’s strong in the air, Muharemovic provides a threat from attacking set-pieces. Both of the centre-back’s two goals last season came inside the six-yard box from corners and in total, he had 15 shots from corners during the 2025/26 campaign compared to Struijk’s 17.
Overall, Muharemovic has the potential to be a great replacement for Struijk and Premier League adaptation pending, he could even be an upgrade. The Bosnian should feel comfortable with the physicality of English top-flight football and in theory, would perform a lot of the same tasks with his front-footed nature and ability to read attacking movements.
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