Pep Clotet’s Birmingham City reportedly wanted to bring Dinamo Zagreb’s Swiss international Mario Gavranovic to the Championship this summer.
Birmingham City tried and failed to sign Switzerland international Mario Gavranovic from Dinamo Zagreb on the final day of the transfer window last month, according to the Birmingham Mail.
The Blues snapped up Croatia’s next top midfielder in Ivan Sunjic but the U21 captain was not the only Dinamo Zagreb player on their radar.
29-year-old Gavranovic scored 12 goals in all competitions last season as The Blues claimed the Croatian title for a 21st time.
And, according to the Birmingham Mail, this title-winning form caught the eye of Pep Clotet’s Midland giants, who made an ill-fated attempt to lure the forward to St Andrews before the 5:00pm deadline on August 8.
Gavranovic ran out of time to decide whether or not to uproot his family and move them across Europe, though can take some consolation in knowing that he is set to play Champions League football against Shakhtar Donestk, Atalanta and Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City between now and the turn of the year.
It was still an impressive summer for Birmingham with Sunjic, a masterful passer of the ball reminiscent of a young Luka Modric, a real coup. The scheming Fran Villalba, however, has already made a big impression after arriving from Valencia while young play-maker Dan Crowley should thrive in Clotet’s system.
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