Barcelona interested in 21-year-old rising star who rejected Real Madrid contract offer | OneFootball

Martin Baturina is making waves with his performances for Croatian giants Dinamo Zagreb, putting several top clubs across Europe on high alert.

Indeed, the 21-year-old attacking midfielder has already attracted serious interest from Real Madrid.

In fact, as already reported earlier this month, Baturina has rejected a five-year contract proposal from the reigning La Liga champions.

Barcelona also keen

Now, according to journalist Patrick Berger from Sky Sport Germany, Barcelona are also interested in acquiring the services of Martin Baturina.

The 21-year-old attacking midfielder plans on leaving Dinamo Zagreb at the end of the season as he is ready to take the next step in his career.

And, Barça are understood to have taken an interest in the youngster, who has the endorsement of Real Madrid captain and legend Luka Modric.

Martin Baturina (C) is a man in demand. (Photo by Jasmin Walter/Getty Images)

Manchester United and Atletico Madrid, too, are admirers of the Croatian international but as per the report, he sees the Bundesliga as the ideal next step for him before moving to a much bigger club.

Baturina, who has two goals and seven assists in 17 games this season, does not have a release clause in his contract with Dinamo Zagreb and is expected to cost around €20-25 million in the summer.

Do Barcelona need Baturina?

While he is certainly an exciting talent, Barcelona already have a plethora of options in the attacking midfield department.

After all, Hansi Flick can call upon Dani Olmo, Pedri, Fermin Lopez, and Pablo Torre for the role while Raphinha has also excelled when deployed as a central attacking midfielder.

Beyond that, there are young talents like Unai Hernandez and Noah Darvich in the reserve team, who have the potential to break into the senior setup in the coming years.

Given the riches in the attacking midfield position, Barcelona would be better off utilising their funds to strengthen other areas of more urgent need rather than moving for Baturina.