The composition of the list for Kansas City Sports He continues. Today they announced the signing of another international player. This time it is the Croatian international center Aljaz Dzankic.

Although he represents Croatia, he was actually born and raised in Slovenia and spent most of his time playing there. He started his youth career with NK Maribor, one of the most successful clubs in Slovenia. There he reached U-19 level before moving to Italy and joining Udinese in 2019. He made 16 appearances for their youth team before returning to Slovenia last summer with his most recent club, the NK Aluminij, where he made his pro. start.

Dzankic can represent Croatia thanks to his grandfather. He made 20 appearances for them in several age groups: U-15, U-17, U-18 and U-19. He just played against Hungary (coincidence ?!) on February 17th.

According to Transfermarkt, his contract with NK Aluminij lasted until summer 2023. It was not clear why he was available to join SKC II, although the ad lists the move as a signature, not a loan, so it is assumed he was released from his contract.

Where does Dzankic fit in with the Sporting KC II?

It can line up in the center of the left and right back. The team currently has three other CBs on the list: Kaveh Rad (19), Danny Barbir (23) and Petar Cuic (21). Cuic has mainly fielded a defensive midfielder in the last few games, but he has played a lot in CB before. At the very least, it would appear that 18-year-old Dzankic would offer good depth in central defense. Despite his youth, there is no reason why he should not have playing time because the whole team is incredibly young.

The signing brings the roster to 15 players in total, although two (Aedan Stanley and Preston Judd) have been drafted by MLS clubs and can eventually join those teams if contract offers are made. It seems very likely that Stanley will sign with Austin FC, as SKC II have already signed the United States junior international. Travian Sousa to fill this roll.

There will still be a lot of signings to come even if the team is thinning on international spots. According to the previous rules, only seven internationals could be part of the team. USL is less transparent than MLS, so it’s not entirely clear which players occupy these places, but Dzankic and Cuic are two, with Dominik Resetar, David Panka and possibly Ropapa Mensah. Expect plenty of SKC Academy players to join us in the coming weeks.

At the moment, the team has no right-back on the roster, only five forwards, three midfielders and a single goalkeeper. Obviously, it’s likely that first-team loans will fill the roster, but COVID-19 could still result in restrictions on player movement.