An excellent passer with good vision but perhaps too defensive, that's a Macedonian view of new Town signing Velice Sumulikoski.
TWTD asked Igor Naumovski of MacedonianFootball.com to tell us a bit about Jim Magilton's latest addition to his midfield ranks: "Sumulikoski hasn't missed many Macedonia matches since his debut in 2002. He is regular member of the national team and he is in the squad for the friendly match against Serbia on February 6th.
”He is defensive midfielder, perhaps too defensive. He has good vision and good passing abilities.
"He's getting good comments by the coaches, although none of the midfield are that popular with the fans, and as I said, he is always in the squad. He's now the fifth most capped Macedonian player with 46 caps [one goal] and he is only 26.”
The widely quoted description of the 5ft 10in tall midfielder as a Balkans version of Steven Gerrard appears to be an invention of our tabloids: ”I think that the English media came up with that ‘Balkans Gerrard' thing before the qualifiers between Macedonia and England. Probably it is because both play as midfielders and also Sumulikoski looks a little like Gerrard!”
Igor, who believes Sumulikoski can speak English, hopes that Town can bring out the midfielder's more attacking instincts: ”He is very solid midfielder and I hope that with a little work with your coaches he will gain more experience and bravery so he can go more up front with the ball.
”I'm looking forward to seeing him play for your club and to see him and your club in the Premiership next season!”
You can see Sumulikoski in action on extensive YouTube videos here, here and here. The backing music is sometimes work unfriendly and generally pretty annoying.