The calm and control of Tarik Muharemović
As many readers of SCOUTED will know, our co-founder, Stephen Ganavas, has spent the last few years globetrotting for a European club. He made his glorious return to SCOUTED earlier this summer and although he - and the rest of the analysis team - are working incredibly hard on a long-term project separate to this magazine, I thought it'd be interesting to catch up with them as often as possible, and hear about the many players they're obsessing over in their spare time.
I knew where I wanted to start. In September, a name started appearing regularly in our group chat. "Tarik Muharemović, best centre-back in the world?" wrote Stephen in early September. "Muharemović to Arsenal in three years," Llew Davies added a week later; "Genuinely staggering footballer," Stephen replied.
Tarik Muharemović is one of the many players who moved to the Premier League this summer that simply flew under my radar. He was Leeds United's record signing at the time, but that record was quickly eclipsed by the more recognisable name (to me, a normie) of James Trafford. And there's something about Muharemović's style that doesn't leap off the pitch. He's a quiet, dependable presence, as Stephen would later explain to me. Watching Leeds, you'd hardly assume one of their three centre-backs was 23 and brand-new to England. "I’ve been following Muharemović for a long time," Stephen told me. "Since he came through Juventus’ youth setup. He’s always been a player best described as being in control."
Ashamed by my ignorance, I pressed Stephen to introduce me to the player as if I'd never watched him - a little like we used to for a series past, The Shortlist. I've also had a two-hour conversation with Jake Entwistle about his recent research - those that enjoyed Mapping the future of midfield can expect more like that essay very soon - and plan to sit down with Llew Davies next week, too.
If you've also not being paying enough attention to Leeds United, hopefully this will act as a primer for you, too - and if you have, perhaps Stephen will deepen your understanding (or you'll disagree with him, vehemently, which is also okay).
"Muharemović isn’t necessarily blessed with crazy speed," Stephen explained to me, when I asked about his style. "Or some of the traits we associate with modern defenders playing in a high line—the transition-dominant centre-backs we’ve become accustomed to in recent years. But he has always stood out for how he manages space, maintains good positioning and stays close to opposing players.
"As he’s grown bigger and stronger—and I think that’s what has really propelled him over the last two years—he has become extremely difficult to shake off. If he gets anywhere near an opponent, he can get an arm across and attach himself to them. So the number-one word, for me, is control."
Before I began this write-up of our conversation, I searched Muharemović's name in our internal database. I wasn't surprised to find notes dating all the way back to 2022. Our first record of him is from a UEFA Youth League game for Juventus against Liverpool. "Tall and lean, the 19-year-old was very much a proactive defender and passer – counteracting the more languid approach of his centre-back partner, Félix Nzouango," Stephen wrote then.
I asked him to help me chart his career. "He broke into the senior team at Wolfsberger towards the end of a season in Austria, when he was 18," Stephen said (his first senior season with Wolfsberger was 2021, a year before that UYL appearance). "He then went straight to Juventus’ academy setup, into the Primavera and through the NextGen team.
"Over the last five to seven years, Juventus have been trying to raise money wherever they can, and academy players have been one of their best routes to doing so. They eventually sold him to Sassuolo [he was first loaned, in 2024, and sold in 2025] with a 50% sell-on clause.
"His start at Sassuolo was a little strange because he didn’t immediately break through. They were relegated, and even two seasons ago, in Serie B, he wasn’t starting every match. In fact, during the second half of the season, as they won promotion and the league, he wasn’t playing much at all.
"But last year [in Serie A] he went straight into the team and never looked back. He formed a really strong partnership with Jay Idzes at Sassuolo, and the consistency of his performances went to another level. Physically, he looked primed and ready. Sassuolo had a great season and a strong attack, but that centre-back pairing was especially important in pushing them into the top half of the table."
I asked Stephen how Leeds managed to bag such a highly-rated European prospect. "There was a possibility he would return to Juventus," he said. "The sell-on clause would have made him more affordable, but Juventus ended up going with Jhon Lucumí while juggling a few different things. Leeds moved quite early in the window.
"That’s just how the window unfolded: Leeds had the first-mover advantage, identified what they wanted and put up the money. I don’t think Juventus were ready to commit that level of finance before completing the incoming and outgoing transfers they wanted to make. It was probably a function of excellent timing from Leeds. We’re already seeing the dividends."
I asked his professional opinion on the move. "I loved it. I thought the best first step for him was to play in a team that would defend a little more. He’s an excellent box defender and very good in the air, so a team where he has to make repeated defensive contributions—a high volume of tackles, clearances and aerial duels—gives him a great opportunity to show what he can do." I did an incredibly brief search for top-level stats before we spoke, and noticed how immediately obvious that volume was: after five games, Muharemović was in the Premier League's top three for clearances made, and top four for interceptions.
"It also means a little less defending in space, where he might be more vulnerable in the Premier League. Playing in a back-three suits him too, although the shape shifts and it isn’t a classic Italian three-at-the-back system. He has looked completely at ease so far.
"When he drifts wide from the back-three, you also see the advantages of his attacking game. Give him space and he can play aggressive passes through the channels or diagonals to the opposite flank. Occasionally, he’ll combine with a one-two and make an inside run up the channel to join the attack. He’s getting to show everything he can do, with no real limits on his role.
"At a bigger club—which was unlikely this summer, anyway—he might have been playing more statically, sitting on the halfway line and covering runs. He isn’t terrible at those things, but chasing runners and man-marking very quick players in-behind doesn’t showcase the apex of his skill set. Leeds felt like a really good landing spot. When he’s called upon to stay involved and constantly make defensive contributions, he’s an absolute killer."
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