October 29, 2026
Bosnian defender Tarik Maharemovic quickly caught the attention with the English club Leeds United, just days after he joined from Italian Sassuolo for 34.1 million pounds sterling, becoming the most expensive defender in the club’s history, succeeding Pascal Struijk, who moved to Brighton for 20 million. The former Leeds coach, Simon Grayson, in statements reported by the BBC Sport website, recalled the player’s strong intervention in front of the South Stand in a friendly match against German Leipzig last July, saying: “The whole stadium exploded. I thought at the time: You will be very popular in this club.” Although some fans were skeptical about the 23-year-old player’s deal because he only spent one season in the major leagues, his performance dispelled those fears.
After only three months of his five-year contract, talk escalated about Leeds’ ability to retain his services in light of the interest of major clubs such as Barcelona, Liverpool, Bayern Munich and Inter Milan. Former Leeds striker, Lucy Ward, confirmed that his wonderful performance will make the clubs admire him and aspire to kidnap him soon. For his part, Grayson considered that the player seemed comfortable at the club, adding: “I am not naive to think that he does not aspire to one day play for the biggest clubs, but I feel that he loves Leeds, the city and the fans.”
Maharemovic was nicknamed “The Bosnian Wall” after he led Leeds’ defense to become the second strongest in the Premier League behind Arsenal, as the team conceded only six goals and left with a clean sheet in three of the first eight matches. The defender, who stands 1.93 meters tall, has not missed a single minute in the league, topping the list of players with the most headed ball clearances, in addition to contributing three goals (one goal and two assists) in 10 matches, most notably his backheel pass for Dominic Calvert-Lewin in a 4-1 win over Newcastle in September, when he shouted in front of the cameras: “United are back, United are back.” In turn, former Leeds goalkeeper Paul Robinson said: “Many questions were raised when Leeds sold Struijk, and the greatest compliment that can be directed to Maharemovic is that no one is talking about his departure anymore.”
On the international level, Maharemovic found himself at the center of a storm during the World Cup, after he was obstructed by American striker Folarin Balogun in the round of 32 match that Bosnia and Herzegovina lost to America 0-2 on July 2, which resulted in Balogun being expelled. US President Donald Trump intervened at the time and continued with FIFA President Gianni Infantino to review the decision, which led to the suspension of the suspension and the American player’s participation in the final match against Belgium. Maharemović commented to The Athletic, saying: “After this intervention, the media exploded. I was everywhere. I thank God that I got out of it without injury.”
Maharemovic was born in Slovenia after his parents fled Bosnia during the 1992-1995 war, and grew up in Austria, where he started professionally with Wolfsberger in 2021 at the age of 18. He then moved to Juventus, where he played 57 matches with the reserve team and trained with the first team alongside Leonardo Bonucci and Giorgio Chiellini, describing them as “they were the first to teach you how to defend.” After being loaned to Sassuolo and then the final transfer, he contributed to the team occupying eleventh place in the Italian League. Maharemović speaks five languages (Bosnian, German, English, Italian, and Slovenian), while his father Rasim is keen to attend all his matches inside and outside his home country.
