1. FC Union Berlin have signed Croatian striker Ivan Prtajin. The 28-year-old joins from SV Wehen Wiesbaden.

A classic centre forward

After playing in youth sides for HNK Primorac Biograd na Moru, Arbanasi and NK Trešnjevka Zagreb, Prtajin joined NK Zagreb's youth team at the age of 16. After two years, he moved to Italian club Udinese in 2014, where he played for Udinese Primavera, the club's reserve team. During this time, the attacker made 49 appearances and scored 22 goals.

Prtajin began training with Croatian club Hajduk Split at the end of 2016 and signed his contract there on 18.01.2017. He made his professional debut at the age of 21 in a 2-1 win against NK Slaven Belupo, where he came on as a substitute in stoppage time. In the winter of 2018, he was loaned out to NK Dugopolje for the rest of the season.

In the summer of 2019, Prtajin moved to Roda JC Kerkrade in the Dutch second division. After one season, he then moved on to FC Schaffhausen in the second Swiss league, where he scored 25 goals and added seven assists in 56 games. A year and a half later, in the winter of 2022, he moved to NK Olimpija Ljubljana in the Slovenian first division, with whom he played in the qualifying round for the UEFA Europa Conference League.

In the summer of 2022, he joined the then German third-division club SV Wehen Wiesbaden. The Croatian scored 15 times, setting up another seven, in 27 appearances in his first season, playing a key role in Wiesbaden's promotion to the second flight. In the following season, Prtajin scored 13 more, including his 100th professional goal with his strike in the second leg of the promotion play-off against Jahn Regensburg, but they were unable to prevent Wiesbaden's relegation to the third division.

Three facts about Ivan Prtajin

The Croatian has scored 100 goals and 22 assists in 258 matches.

Prtajin trained with Josip Juranović at Hajduk Split & played with Benedict Hollerbach at Wiesbaden.

He has made two appearances for the Croatia U19 national team.

Views on the transfer

“From the first talks with those responsible at Union, I felt very comfortable and realised that this transfer was the right path for me,” said Prtajin on his move to the German capital. “I believe that I can help the club with my experience and my style of play as a striker.”

Oliver Ruhnert, director of men's professional football at 1. FC Union Berlin, was also happy to have the striker on board for the coming season. “Ivan is a tall player who is strong in the air, and who also has a good finish. At Wiesbaden, he has proven his scoring ability in the third and second divisions. We are delighted to welcome him to our attacking line-up."