Lincoln City have been linked with an interest in Bosnia and Herzegovina international midfielder Dario Sarić, as per journalist Nicolo Schira.
The 29-year-old, who has not been called up to their World Cup squad, is currently with Antalyaspor in the Turkish Süper Lig. he moved to the Turkish top flight in 2025 after an earlier loan spell from Palermo. Sarić is a central midfielder by trade, although he has also been used in deeper and more advanced midfield roles during his career.
It’s believed we’re not the only ones looking at him: Greek side Iraklis and Bolton Wanderers are also credited with an interest by Schira, who has amassed 400,000 followers on X, so feels ‘fairly’ reputable.
Dario Sarić Career
Sarić was born in Italy and came through the youth system at Cesena before joining Carpi as a young player. His early senior experience came through loan spells with Virtus Castelfranco and Siena, with the latter giving him his first professional appearances and first senior goal.
He remained with Carpi until 2020, making 54 league appearances and scoring four times before moving to Ascoli. That proved to be a regular spell in Serie B, with Sarić making 66 league appearances and scoring four goals across two seasons.
Palermo signed Sarić in August 2022 on a four-year deal, for a fee thought to be worth around €2m, and he made his debut for the club the following month against Reggina. He played 37 league games for Palermo before spending the 2023-24 season on loan with Antalyaspor.
That first spell in Turkey brought 32 league appearances and three goals, before Palermo sent him back to Italy with Cesena in January 2025. He featured 15 times and scored three goals during that loan before returning to Antalyaspor permanently later in the year.
Sarić has also played international football for Bosnia and Herzegovina, which could be interesting. ESC rules suggest a player will not take a slot if that have played in at least five Senior Competitive International Matches for a national team ranked outside the top 50 places in the FIFA World Rankings: he has ten caps, and Bosnia are 64th in the world.
Dario Sarić facts and stats
Sarić made 24 Süper Lig appearances for Antalyaspor last season, starting 16 times as his side finished 16th. He plays primarily as a holding midfielder, comfortable using both feet. He played 1,398 league minutes, registering two goal involvements, but he doesn’t feel like a key player, more a squad member.
He is neat in the pass: 338 successful passes at an 81.2% completion rate, as well as recording 33 tackles, 73 recoveries, and 115 duels won, all of which point to a holding midfielder, not unlike Conor McGrandles and Ivan Varfolomeev. However, when run through the Streamlit player similarity profiler, his numbers look similar to Tom Bayliss, and that is a position we need to bolster. He certainly feels versatile.
However, the age doesn’t quite feel right, nor the profile. I’d expect us to go abroad for players who offer value for money and resale, which isn’t Sarić. He doesn’t have Championship experience, and while Serie B and the Super Lig are a decent level, it would feel like a slightly more risky move, given his age.
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