Marko Bulat 2020/21 – scout report

Marko Bulat is a very talented youngster who plays for HNK Šibenik in 1.HNL. This scout report is a tactical analysis on Bulats attributes and qualities, but also where he needs to improve. 

Bulat made his senior debut at the age of 16, and he has been a crucial part of the Šibenik squad since then. He is currently part of the Croatian U19 national team where he has collected 9 caps so far. There was an unfortunate turn of events for him last year, where he had one foot in Barcelona, before borders were closed and flights got cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic, which prevented him from signing for the Spanish giants. After Eric Abidals resignation at Barcelona, it became for difficult to arrive at an agreement and Bulat stayed at his hometown club as a result. He was also linked with a move to Manchester City, but the Premier League table-toppers did not follow up on their interest. However, Bulat has now earned promotion to 1.HNL with his side, and has got a chance to show his talents on the highest stage in Croatia.  

Player overview

Marko Bulat is a 19-year-old midfielder who can play as a central midfielder and as a defensive midfielder. Transfermarkt values him at 1.5 million euros. Bulat is 178cm tall and is right-footed. 

In this image, we can see how Bulat looks compared to U21 midfielders from the top five European leagues, who have played at least 400 minutes this season. Of course it needs to be taken into account that he plays in a weaker league, but he looks very good in most of these metrics. He attempts the most long passes per 90, although this is a result of Šibeniks style of play, as they always try to be direct, and Bulat is a crucial part of their tactics. He is one of the best in terms of shot assists per 90 and shots per 90. He looks very good in defensive duels by winning 60% of them. This season he has played mostly as a left-sided defensive midfielder in a 4-2-3-1 and as a left central midfielder in a 3-4-3 which can be seen in his heatmap as well. 

Passing ability

Even though Šibenik are a newly-promoted team, they have not moved away from their attacking style of football and they create good chances in each match. Bulat is a crucial part of their philosophy and he has the responsibility to distribute the ball quickly towards his teammates in advanced positions on the pitch. What Bulat often does is switch the play with a long ball to the flanks. In a 3-4-3 formation which the team have played lately, it is very important to switch play frequently to create 1v1 or 2v1 situations on the wing.