Alen Halilović, The next Modric?

Alen Halilović, remember this name. You are going to hear this name a lot in coming years in the football world. You might have already heard about this Croatian wonderkid that plays as an attacking midfielder for Dinamo Zagreb, the most successful club in the Croatian football world. The Dinamo Zagreb’s youth academy player is also considered as one of the greatest young talents of European football.

The Croatian starlet already has a stack of records to his name, though he is just 17 years old, after having an impressive youth career. He is his team’s youngest player. He is the youngest debutant and the youngest goal scorer of the Croatian league (just 16 years). He is also the youngest debutant of Croatian national team. He is the second youngest player to feature in Champions league. He has already made 44 appearances for his club as a senior player and has 3 senior international caps despite being just 17. But majority of his appearances are from substitutes’ bench making him a target for many European giants.

Alen Halilović has been compared to many world class players

around the Europe. His playing style as an attacking midfield on the right wing, his technique and his appearance have led to comparisons with his national captain and Real Madrid star Luka Modric, who made a name for himself at White Hart Lane. He usually plays on the right wing but is also quite happy to play as a striker. His ability to pick a pass, aggressive dribbling style and cutting inside to shoot with his favored sweet left foot has tagged him as ‘The Next Messi’ and ‘The Balkan Messi’.

Alen Halilović is sure to be destined for big things away from Croatian capital when he sees contract out in 2014. Dinamo Zagreb want to keep him for three more years but that seems unlikely to happen. He is the most sought-after teenager in European football world as apparently already many European clubs are vying to secure his services. Top European clubs like Manchester City, Manchester United, Arsenal, Tottenham Hotspur and Real Madrid have sent scouts to watch him in action. FC Barcelona almost stole a march in the race to sign the Croatian wonderkid in the January transfer window. Dinamo Zagreb director Zdravko Mamic confirmed that the Catalan club have had a bid for the starlet turned down. Barcelona’s bid of €3.6 million plus bonus and loan back the player to Dinamo Zagreb for the remainder of the season was rejected as the club, the player and his family were not completely satisfied with the terms of the offer. This will not stop Barcelona from making another offer this coming summer. Rumour is that the European champions FC Bayern Munich are also keen on signing this great talent, but Barcelona are favorites to secure his signature.

Those who have seen him play or his videos on youtube, can not deny that he is the next big thing for sure. But will he live upto his potential? We will know the answer to this question soon in the coming years.

Here are some Squawka stats regarding Halilovic

Author:

Ketan Vazirabadkar (@kets_vaz)

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