Dinamo Zagreb winger Mislav Orsic is set to snub Everton for a transfer to Southampton in the next 24 hours. The Croatian carried out the final stages of his Saints medical on Friday.
That is according to Sky Sports, which reports the Saints are expecting to announce Orsic’s transfer imminently. Talks between the south coast natives and Dinamo Zagreb reached a positive conclusion after the St Mary’s hierarchy agreed to pay a fee in the region of £8m.
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Southampton hosted Orsic on Friday morning to put the attacker through the final stages of his medical at the club. He joins to bolster new Saints manager Nathan Jones’ attacking options as he now strives to steer the club away from the Premier League relegation zone.
Everton have also shown an interest in Orsic’s transfer but are now set to miss out on the Dinamo Zagreb dynamo to Southampton. 90min cited the Toffees, AFC Bournemouth and Nottingham Forest as also holding talks with the SuperSport HNL side during recent weeks.
But Orsic favoured a move to St Mary’s, where Sportske Novosti reports he will sign a two-and-a-half-year contract. Talks between Southampton and Dinamo Zagreb also advanced after he made clear to the Stadion Maksimir outfit his desire to join the Saints this month.
Dinamo Zagreb star Orsic is to snub Everton for a transfer to Southampton
Orsic will snub a transfer to Everton and join Southampton after four-and-a-half years with Dinamo Zagreb. He joined the team in 2018 and has offered 91 goals plus 40 assists in 214 appearances. His haul includes 13 goals and eight assists over 27 appearances this season.
The 27-cap Croatia international also hit one goal and two assists over six appearances at the World Cup in Qatar. Orsic bagged his only goal in the third-place play-off to claim a 2-1 win against Morocco. He put Vatreni in front in the 42nd minute with the would-be winner.
Now, Jones will hope his presence on the south coast keeps Southampton in the top-flight, possibly at Everton’s expense. Southampton sit bottom of the Premier League table on 12 points after 18 matches. The Toffees and Wolves currently join the Saints in the drop zone.
Orsic – who former Dinamo Zagreb coach and sports director Zeljko Kopic once described as ‘special’ – has also already shown this season that he can cause Premier League teams problems. The 30-year-old scored to beat Chelsea 1-0 at home in the Champions League.
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