In the season just past, Zhejiang team captain Frank Andrijašević led his team to the final of the AFC Cup and eventually won the third place in the Chinese Super League. Now, the Croatian foreign aid is in the critical period of the contract, he was interviewed by the morning paper, the first time on the renewal of the issue of public voice.
A standout player in the Croatian league, Frank rose to prominence at Splitsea Dukes before hibernating at Dinamo Zagreb and eventually earning a name for himself at Rijeka, where he joined forces with Croatia's second team for the China Cup in early 2017. That same year, his agent Andy Balla spotted him at Beijing Beijng and signed him to a valuable contract, although by then Frank preferred to stay in Europe.
Frank, who joined Gent in the summer of 2017 for a transfer fee of €4.25 million, became the highest transfer fee in Rijeka's history (the first two being Kramaric and Bradaric, respectively). However, his performances in the Belgian league were not ideal. He then returned to Rijeka on loan and was promoted to captain.
In the summer of 2021, Zhejiang, who were intent on reaching the Super League, threw in the towel to Frank. Given Ghent's eagerness to sell the player (with only one year left on his original contract), the team signed the Croatian star for only 500,000 euros. Although Frank was unable to become a starter in the early stages due to foreign aid quota restrictions, after a period of adaptation he still showed great strength and was appointed captain by head coach Jordi.
Prior to this, Frank has repeatedly told the domestic media that if he could return to Croatia, he would prefer to return to his old home of Jeca. With Frank stepping into the contract year, the outside world on his future direction of the concern continues to heat up.
However, for the time being, Frank is not in a hurry to return to Croatia, as he enjoys his life in Zhejiang. He said that he does not exclude a contract extension: "This is the last year of my contract, which will expire on December 1st. I hope to come up with an answer soon. Overall, I'm very happy here. The club is well managed and there are no salary arrears. The team is strong and I have a good relationship with the club's management. They appreciate me very much and respect me a lot. I feel good here and have adapted to a whole new way of life. I really enjoy my time playing here."
In addition, the addition of his old teammate Evra (they used to play side by side in Splithead Duke) has made Frank like the environment and atmosphere of playing in Zhejiang even more: "We are playing together again, having fought together in Split. Now, Evra is more fluent in English, which helps us communicate better. He's a good friend, an optimist. When we play away from home, we can always keep a smile on our faces."
