Why Mislav Orsic could be a real coup for West Brom
According to Express & Star, West Brom have been credited with an interest in Croatian forward Mislav Orsic, who currently plies his trade with heavyweights Dinamo Zagreb in his homeland.
Baggies boss Slaven Bilic has confirmed that he is genuinely interested in completing a deal for the 27-year-old versatile attacker, who is valued at around £9million by Dinamo. (h/t Express & Star)
A youth exponent of Croatian club Inter Zapresic, Orsic shot to prominence with Changchun Yatai in China and Jeonnam Dragons and Ulsan Hyundai in South Korea before returning to the Croatian top-flight with Dinamo Zagreb back in the summer of 2018.
Having netted 13 times in 44 appearances in all competitions during the previous campaign, Orsic has already bettered that tally with 19 goals and 5 assists in 26 appearances so far this term.
As a matter of fact, five of those goals have come in the group stages of the UEFA Champions League, with the 27-year-old bagging a hat-trick against Atalanta and also getting his name on the scoresheet against Shakhtar Donetsk and Rosenborg.
Orsic has been instrumental in Dinamo’s pursuit of their 15th league title in 16 years and his red-hot form has also earned him senior international recognition with Croatia, having made his debut as a substitute in a 1-1 draw against Azerbaijan in a Euro 2020 qualifier back in September.
Held in high regard in his homeland as a two-footed attacker, Mislav Orsic is essentially a left-winger by trade but he is also versatile enough to play out wide on the right and also up top in a centre-forward role.
Meanwhile, West Brom are yet to set the ball rolling in the winter market after a busy summer window following the appointment of Slaven Bilic, who forked out considerable cash to rope in the likes of Kenneth Zohore, Darnell Furlong, Semi Ajayi and Charlie Austin.
The Baggies, who are currently the pace-setters in the Championship and arguably the red-hot favourites for automatic promotion, don’t really need to make any wholesale changes to their squad during the mid-season trading period.
However, with a couple of weeks left to run before the January deadline, the possibility of some new recruits arriving at The Hawthorns certainly can’t be played down as the Baggies look to maintain their dominance in the Championship, and possibly, start planning for the Premier League in advance.
To put things into perspective, West Brom haven’t been short of attacking firepower in the Championship this season but Mislav Orsic looks like a quality player who could be an upgrade on the club’s existing options in front of goal.
Grady Diangana, who joined the Baggies on loan from West Ham back in the summer, has been instrumental with his goal contributions down the left-hand side of the pitch, but Bilic needs to start planning for life without his star loanee sooner rather than later.
Another key driving force in West Brom’s attack, Matheus Pereira, is yet to seal a permanent move to West Midlands and regardless of what the future holds for him, Orsic could add some much-needed quality and versatility to the Baggies forward line.
Verdict
The 27-year-old’s brilliance in Croatia hardly guarantees the same in England but his exploits in the Champions League this season and in the Europa League last term lie testament to the fact that Orsic is, indeed, capable of delivering the goods in a more competitive league.
With the price tags of players continuing to soar sky-high in the ever-inflating market, it is very difficult to acquire quality talents at a reasonable rate. To that end, it doesn’t require a rocket scientist to figure out that Mislav Orsic could be a real steal for West Brom if he is, indeed, available at the quoted price of £9 million.
The Croatian international is very much in his prime years as a professional footballer and a significant outlay for his services in the market could be well worth it, given that Prsic looks capable of making the step up to the Premier League in the coming days.
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Having said that, Bilic reuniting with his compatriot at the Hawthorns could pay off handsomely for West Brom.
