Man Utd on cusp of signing star of Croatia’s next golden generation

Croatia’s golden generation may well have been that which finished third at the 1998 World Cup, but there are certainly signs that another could come along in the not-too-distant future.

Dinamo Zagreb look to be a key feeding line to a number of young starlets, with Mateo Kovacic one of the most recent to emerge. At the age of 19, he has already made over 25 appearances for Inter Milan and seven for the full national team.

Young defender Sime Vrsaljko is another to have left Dinamo Zagreb for Genoa and there are two more midfielders that now seem to have exceedingly bright futures.

Alen Halilovic has already made a mark on the first team at the age of 17 and been rewarded with three international caps. A move to Real Madrid has already been suggested.

Another 17-year-old is Robert Muric, who is not so well known as he is still to make his debut for Dinamo. There is the belief that his chance will come, once Halilovic moves on.

However, Muric did make an impression when scoring at the 2013 under-17 World Cup and the latest speculation from his father is that a move to Manchester United in the January transfer window has already been 99 per cent agreed.

Muric fits in as a modern winger as although left footed, he tends to have the greatest success when cutting in from the right side.

He is a keen and tricky dribbler and could represent half of a very formidable wing attack at Man Utd in the near future, opposite Adnan Januzaj.

There is a view that Man Utd are going through somewhat of a transitional period at present and it is 1/1 that one result of this is that they fail to win a major trophy this season.