Birmingham City: How is Ivan Sunjic getting on at Pafos after summer move? | OneFootball

Sunjic's five-year stay in the Midlands ended earlier this year, and he quickly found himself a new club on the other side of Europe

Ex-Birmingham City midfielder Ivan Sunjic ended his stay in the Midlands earlier this year, with his contract coming to an end after five years, but he has fixed himself up with a new club.

The Croatian midfielder never quite lived up to his billing at City following his £6.3 million transfer from Dinamo Zagreb in 2019, despite amassing 173 appearances with Birmingham.

And after not being offered a new deal earlier this year following Blues' relegation to League One, the 27-year-old has joined Pafos, who compete in the top flight of the Cypriot first division.

Sunjic moved to England with a status as one of Croatia's brightest young talents, following a call-up to the national team at the age of just 19 in May 2017, and also captaining his country at the 2019 UEFA European Under-21 Championships.

However, despite the price-tag and potential, Sunjic never really lived up to his potential in England, and his time on British shores ended with a relegation on his CV.

Sunjic has started afresh though in Cyprus, but how is get getting on?

How is Ivan Sunjic getting on at Pafos following Birmingham City exit?

The 27-year-old experienced some harsh realities in his time with Birmingham and was also loaned out to Bundesliga side Hertha Berlin during his time.

Now, the midfielder is in a very different environment from Birmingham, and has endured a fairly positive start overall.

The Croat made his Pafos debut in a UEFA Europa Conference League encounter with Bulgarian side CSKA 1948 Sofia in a 2-1 loss. Despite this, they went on to win the tie on aggregate after a late 4-0 demoliton job in the second leg.

It hasn't been all positive for Sunjic though on a personal level, however, as he was substituted with the score at 0-0 at half-time, and they well and truly kicked on after he was off the pitch.

Despite this, Sunjic went onto feature for Pafos in their next round tie versus CFR Cluj of Romania, where they qualified for the group stages after a 3-1 victory on aggregate.

Now, Sunjic can perform on the European stage, where they'll meet two-time runner-up of the competition Fiorentina in November.

Overall, the 27-year-old has featured in five matches, with the Cypriot side fourth in their domestic division in the early stages - it's slow progress for Sunjic himself, but something to build on.

Ivan Sunjic will be hoping for more success at Pafos than he got with Birmingham City

After not featuring much for Pafos so far, Sunjic is still a part of a UEFA Conference League side, which will make him rather pleased following his spell at Birmingham.

The Croat had originally signed for a club record fee with the Blues from Dinamo Zagreb for a reported £6.3 million. This, of course, has now been obliterated by Jay Stansfield's initial £15 million move.

Sunjic appeared 44 times in all competitions in his debut Blues campaign, but this season started off a horrid spell for the Croatian. They narrowly avoided relegation, and he could never quite get into games as a key figure.

The only positive you can give to Sunjic is his consistent availability, rarely being out injured, and he did give his all for the badge when it was all said and done.

Now at Pafos, though, he has the chance to get some regular minutes at a competitive European level under his belt, and in the Conference League he can take on some top class opposition.