Amar Dedic: Style of play, career so far and key stats on Newcastle's new full-back

Amar Dedic becomes the latest new arrival at St James’ Park and the first signing made since the appointment of Matthias Jaissle, with his £29.5m switch from Benfica set to be announced imminently.

It is fitting in some ways, as he has previously played under our current manager at both Liefering and RB Salzburg. That will be an early advantage for him, as he will immediately understand the demands of the system and already knows what the manager wants from his full-backs.

There has been great worry among the fan-base about the lack of full-backs in the squad, after the departures of Kieran Trippier and Emil Krafth. It was surprising that one wasn’t recruited earlier in the window, but it is good to see Dedic arrive before Liverpool. The Bosnian could be thrown straight into the starting eleven on Sunday.

Career to date

The right-back is a full Bosnian international, having collected 31 caps for his national team. Dedic featured at the summer’s World Cup. Despite playing for Bosnia, he was actually born in Austria and that explains the formative years of his career.

The 24-year-old was developed in the Red Bull system and was registered by RB Salzburg. His teenage years included a spell with Liefering, who are the reserve side of RB Salzburg. Jaissle was manager of both the reserve team and the first team during Dedic’s time with the club, which explains the existing relationship between the pair.

It looked a matter of time before he was moved to a bigger league and he had his first experience with Marseille on loan in 2024-25. This was before a permanent move to join Benfica. Dedic was the first choice right-back under Jose Mourinho and will have learned a lot from the legendary manager.

Style of play

The characteristics that underpin Dedic’s style of play are his athleticism and mobility. He is well suited to playing in a high line and cover significant ground. It is thought that Jaissle will demand a lot from his full-backs, even if this hasn’t been fully evident in pre-season. Dedic will already understand these demands.

On the ball, he is effective and has regularly contributed goals and assists throughout his career. Although he isn’t a high volume contributor in the final third, he chips in across the season. When he picks up the ball, he likes to drive forward and beat the first opposition in the press, which opens up passing lanes into midfield. He is very much schooled in the vertical football utilised by Jaissle.

Dedic’s versatility is one of the key reasons why he has been targeted, as he can play on both sides as a full-back and can carry out a variety of tactical instructions. He has plenty of experience for his age, across different European competitions.

The key areas of concerns are his one-on-one defending and he can be caught out by quick opposition players. This is due to his aggressive positioning out of possession, which can leave space behind him.

Another area to worry about is his discipline. Dedic can be hot-headed and hasn’t been a stranger to a red card during his career. In some ways, the current Newcastle teams needs some characters like this, but he will need to learn how to stay on the right side of the referee. He needs to channel his aggression in the right way, so it is an asset rather than a liability.

The stats

Last season, he contributed a goal and four assists in the Portuguese League in less than 2000 minutes. This is a decent return for his position. Dedic likes to attack the right half space. The attacking patterns in pre-season have shown the importance of attacking down the wings and its easy to foresee Dedic offering a goal threat from a Lewis Hall cross.

Dedic’s ability to get into the box is shown by his average of 2.88 touches in the opposition penalty area. His value to the high pressing system is evident by his ability to win possession in the final third, with an average of 0.66 per ninety minutes.

The Bosnian likes to dribble, as displayed by his average of 1.61 successful dribbles per ninety minutes. A success rate of 53.1% is on the low side. Dedic will need to become better at choosing when to run with the ball otherwise he will be a big turnover risk in the Premier League.

For Benfica, he collected three yellow cards and two red cards. Dedic isn’t a proficient collector of cards, but he does get sent off more often than you’d like. He will need to avoid this becoming an issue in the Premier League.

Verdict

It is easy to see why Dedic has been identified as the main full-back signing this summer. He can cover both sides of the pitch and he already has a good understanding of what the new manager wants. Despite arriving as a new signing, he could already be more tactically tuned into the demands than any other player in the squad.

Tino Livramento’s injury record has been very poor in recent years, therefore it was important to sign a player that could start regularly at right-back. Dedic is better on that side of the pitch and will be likely to step straight into the starting eleven.

Dedic is more aggressive than Livramento and carries a greater attacking threat. He is a better fit for the vertical style that Jaissle is trying to implement, as he enjoys defending high on the pitch and winning the ball back in the opposition half.

Unlike Livramento, he has the technical attributes and technical understanding to move in-field into a midfield position when the team has the ball. This opens up options for the head coach.

Newcastle need to source experience and limit risk in the transfer market over the remaining weeks. The first team is desperate for quality and players that can make an instant impact. In that regard, Dedic is an excellent choice.

Stats sourced from fotmob