West Bromwich Albion were linked with a move for Milan Orsic in January and made contact with the 27-year-old’s representatives over a potential transfer. Slaven Bilic was public about his desire to sign the GNK Dinamo Zagreb winger but no deal materialised and the Baggies aren’t expected to return for him this summer.
Orsic joined Dinamo from South Korean outfit Ulsan Hyundai for less than £1m in 2018 and has gone on to make 77 appearances in all competitions, contributing 49 goals. As per Transfermarkt, the Croatian international had been in fantastic form before January, scoring 19 goals across the board and making four assists.
It’s no wonder West Brom were keen to bring him to the Hawthorns, and even Orsic admitted to Sportske via the Express and Star that his future was uncertain amid interest from other clubs. He said at the time: “It’s hard to talk about. You see, now I’m solely focused on Dinamo. Whether or not the offer will come, no one knows.”
“This is what my agent takes care of, I am concentrating on football, training, team. A possible transfer, therefore, I cannot talk about now. By all accounts, my successor should be Antonio Marin. He has been with the first team for a long time, he is young and talented, he needs to work, move forward, hopefully he will be ‘real’.”
Dinamo rebuffed all interest in the winter transfer window and Albion ended up signing Callum Robinson on loan from Sheffield United and Kamil Grosicki for £855k from Hull City.
Steve Madeley of The Athletic was asked in a Q&A if West Brom could return for Orsic and replied: “It’s highly unlikely. He was a genuine option because he was in a rich vein of form… (but) there were concerns about the lack of detailed scouting, which is why they eventually opted for Grosicki and Robinson.”
