Mislav Orsic set for Southampton medical, agent at play to halt Everton move
Everton have had the door slammed firmly in their face by Dinamo Zagreb after they had appeared to be leading the race to sign Mislav Orsic.
Germanijak journalist Izak Ante Sucic reported on 4 January that the Toffees were the favourites to sign the 30-year-old winger after Southampton had seen two bids rejected by the Croatian champions.
It was thought that the Saints were out of the running as a result but the same journalist has now shared via his personal Twitter account that there has been a sudden U-turn and he will undergo a medical at St Mary’s.
“Big turnaround: Mislav Orsic will join Southampton,” he said. “It seems like their 3rd offer was accepted! Deal will be official soon. Transfer fee €6.0+€2.0 bonuses (£5.2million plus £1.7million). Mislav will undergo medical test today!”
The ins and outs of the negotiations and whether the Toffees were ever really close to making a move in unknown but if they were in play, then surely Orsic’s agent has simply used Everton to jack up the price he and his client can get.
Zagreb will have also pointed to Merseyside as a way to try and entice Southampton, one of the Toffees’ rivals for Premier League safety this season, to bid more money.
Seemingly, those tactics have worked and now Frank Lampard and Kevin Thelwell have got to go back to the drawing board and look for the next alternative option in the wide areas.
Orsic is a player they would have longed for having impressed for the Croatian champions in the Champions League, scoring against Chelsea and AC Milan, as well as at the Qatar World Cup.
The club have got to be more astute in future transfer negotiations so as to not get played so easily and almost bullied into accepting their defeat to a team that could easily send them down come May.