Southampton’s £3.5 million asking price could block Mislav Orsic’s chances of leaving the Championship outfit for Turkish giants Trabzonspor this summer.
It certainly doesn’t reflect well on Southampton that Mislav Orsic – a World Cup bronze medalist as recently as December – could leave St Mary’s for half the price they paid for him just a few months ago, following a measly six minutes of league in red and white.
The £8 million signing from Dinamo Zagreb barely kicked a ball in anger as the Saints finished bottom of England’s top flight last term.
Whether he is offered the opportunity to make up for lost time in the second-tier remains to be seen; Swansea City boss Russell Martin potentially set to be confirmed at last as Southampton’s new manager in the coming days.
If Orsic has no future on the South Coast, however, Trabzonspor would be willing to take the 30-year-old forward off their hands. But only if Southampton further reduce a price-tag which has already fallen by over 50 per cent.
Southampton must make a decision on Mislav Orsic
“At the request of coach Nenad Bjelica, Orsic and (fellow Croatian Bruno) Petkovic are the players we are interested in,” Trabzonspor president Ertugrul Dogan tells BeIN Sports.
“However, the clubs of both players are (asking for figures) such as 4 million euros.
“We will not pay these figures. We are in the process of signing two players (but) their names have not been reported in the press.”
Orsic broke the 20-goal barrier in each of his final three seasons with Dinamo Zagreb before embarking upon that ill-fated move to England in the winter. He is not the only January signing already facing an uncertain future either. There are a number of clubs fluttering their eyelashes in the direction of Paul Onuachu, Kamaldeen Sulemana and Carlos Alcaraz. Though the latter seems keen to stay despite interest from Newcastle United.
Orsic has also been linked with a return to Croatia.
Dinamo Zagreb coach Igor Biscan, however, is not exactly confident of a making a proposed homecoming a reality
“(There is) no news. Considering my relationship with (his agent), I would know (if Orsic was returning),” the former Liverpool midfielder tells Sportske Novosti.
“Apparently, the English are quite demanding. And it doesn’t look promising at the moment.”
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