The speculation concerning which course of action Dinamo Zagreb will take now that Luka Modric’s departure is inevitable increases. A whole host of clubs have been named in the race to sign the young Croat playmaker, and with news that he is taking private tuition in English language heightening suspicions that he shall be on his way to Liverpool, Chelsea, Arsenal or Manchester City rather than Barcelona as was previously believed due to his self-confessed admiration for Spanish football. Tottenham Hotspur and Newcastle United have also been named, but given Modric’s close friendship with Vedran Corluka maybe Manchester City is a likely outcome. Failing this, Eduardo at Arsenal and Niko Kranjcar at Portsmouth mean that these two clubs must also be attractive to the Zadar born player. The greatest fear we must have is that he will end up going to a club that would not suit him just so that Dinamo can maximise their profits. Nothing would be worse than a move to Chelsea where club politics lead to certain players being in and others being out almost inexplicably. Nobody wants to see Modric’s blossoming talent get wasted with weeks sat on the bench and the odd run out in the 86th minute of matches.

Below is a translation of an article from Sportske Novosti which talks about what options are open for Dinamo now. It speaks a lot about Sammir, a player of great, but unproven talent. Many foresee an increased role for Mario Mandzukic who scored the opening goal in yesterday’s league victory against Osijek. He has shown that he has the ability to win matches too, as was visible earlier in the season in Amsterdam. Whilst he is a different type of player to Modric, he shares one common facet, namely that they are able to truly shape games around themselves when all of the cogs start turning. Apart from Mandzukic it is hard too see this ability in any of Dinamo’s other players at the moment.

Dinamo in the hunt for Modrić’s successor
On Sunday 3rd February this year, Luka Modrić left Dinamo preparing in Turkey and departed for the gathering of the Croatian national team who then played against the Netherlands in Split. With a greeting to the Croatian journalists he said: “I believe that I’m leaving in the summer and... full stop!”

That’s how it will be, even though they don’t wish to officially recognise that at Maksimir. Dishonestly, besides, they would say that Dinamo is not prepared for the departure of Modrić. One option in the search for his successor are the young guys from its own backyard. Sammir has been here more than one year, has played for the Brazilian Under-19 national team and all who have seen his skills say that he will be better than Diego. But, Sammir is still a potential, a player who knows how to excite with moves, but does not seriously look like a player who would be able to dictate a game. In the summer Guela arrived, but his story till now is similar to that of Sammir.

The second option is buying. With the sale of Eduardo, Ćorluka and Pokrivač, the tills of the club from Maksimir are full and the door is ajar for an input of strengthening this summer... Urgently reacting to the excellent games of Ivo Iličević in the national youth team. If there was no too great an appetite in Bochum, the uniquely talented player would already be in a blue shirt. On the market are the interesting Brazilians Manuel Morais, Wellington Brito da Silva, and Otto Barić has recommended the young Albanian national team player Jahmir Hyku, but it is not impossible either for the input of Anas Sharbinij from Rijeka.

Dinamo’s coach Zvonimir Soldo has a third option in the life of Dinamo after Modrić’s departure.
-Modrić will be hard to replace, but there is plenty of time till the transfer deadline. If Luka goes, maybe it will change the style of play, but it’s too early to speak about that. Sammir really is an excellent player, but it’s necessary to see how he will react when he returns to the field.

So, in the case of a change to the style of play, for coordination will remain very little time, but Dinamo must be in top form by the end of July. When all of this is today counted, maybe it would be cleverer for Dinamo to sell Modrić this winter. Soldo and the players then would have a few months and a large number of competitive matches. They already claimed the championship last year...

With cash from Modric’s sale Dinamo must go into the summer months with an eye to bringing in other talents. Whether they will go for the domestic, expat or foreign markets remains to be seen. Modric is a unique player, meaning that Dinamo’s full coffers will have to be emptied to bring in a selection of players to fill the void. As the club’s top scorer this season they will need a proven goal-getter, though the injured Krunoslav Lovrek of NK Zagreb and the Hajduk Split ace Nikola Kalinic seem unlikely acquisitions. Finding a player to work the attacking midfield for the team will also be necessary. Whilst supporters are demanding an assault on the Champions’ League or UEFA Cup it appears that the 2008-2009 season may have to be sacrificed as one of likely domestic success but general transition.

Sportske Novosti article
Football Transfer League speculation on Modric
NK Dinamo Zagreb profile of Modric