Southampton’s Premier League misfit Mislav Orsic could be offered a return to Dinamo Zagreb with coach Igor Biscan admitting that he would be ‘more than happy’ to see the Croatia international back at his old stomping ground.
Many observers were understandably baffled when Leeds United opted to sack Jesse Marsch just days after backing their coach with a couple of high-profile January signings; Weston McKennie arriving from Juventus while stumping up a club-record fee for Georginio Rutter.
Southampton, meanwhile, stumbled into a similar trap.
Nathan Jones was handed his P45 in early-February. And, as a result, a number of the players who signed on his watch that previous month suddenly found themselves in limbo; Jones’ former Luton Town favourite James Bree now out of favour alongside Paul Onuachu and the aforementioned Orsic.
Orsic, an £8 million signing from Dinamo Zagreb, has only played six minutes of Premier League football. He’s been left out of the matchday squad for 13 of their last 15 games too.
Orsic’s agent has already admitted that a summer departure from St Mary’s may be on the cards. And, should the opportunity arise, Biscan would relish the chance to bring a living legend back to the club he represented for five glorious years, winning four Croatian league titles while scoring nearly 100 goals.
Is Mislav Orsic leaving Southampton already?
“Everyone who could make my team better with quality and character, I’m for it,” Biscan tells MediaServis, via Nacional. “And Mislav is certainly the one in that regard.
“I would be more than happy if he returned to our club again.”
Orsic is reportedly a summer target for Trabzonspor and even cash-strapped Champions League semi-finalists Inter Milan. A World Cup bronze medalist in Qatar, the 30-year-old’s future at Southampton could depend on who replaces interim coach Ruben Selles in the St Mary’s dugout.
“What’s happening to Orsic is a tragedy,” Slovenia coach Matjaz Kek, who nearly took over at Dinamo Zagreb, recently, tells Sportske Novosti.
“Football can be very, very cruel. Orsic also had some weaker periods, when he didn’t score goals, when he didn’t play well. However, he was the image of Dinamo.
“He is a member of the Croatian national team, he was at the World Cup. He didn’t sunbathe in Qatar, but was an important player in the finals.”
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