Real Madrid ruled out as Barcelona fall behind in race for ‘the new Luka Modrić’ | OneFootball

Spanish football’s two biggest clubs have fallen off the pace in the race for Dinamo Zagreb sensation Martin Baturina.

That’s according to Diario Sport, who have this week provided an insight into the situation.

For those not familiar with his name, Baturina is a 21-year-old attack-minded midfielder, who has long been making a name for himself as one of the standout talents in his home country of Croatia.

Across the season to date, the starlet has racked up 20 appearances across all competitions, chipping in with two goals and seven assists along the way.

Baturina is also a regular with Croatia at international level, capped nine times despite his tender years.

With such impressive exploits comes inevitable outside interest, with a whole host of leading European clubs understood to be keeping a close eye on the midfielder’s progress.

Chief amongst them are La Liga heavyweights Barcelona and Real Madrid, both of whom have sent scouts to watch Baturina in action on more than one occasion.

As alluded to above, though, if the latest word stemming from the media is anything to go by, then the Clásico pair are increasingly at risk of missing out on a deal.

As per Sport, citing German outlet Germanijak, Baturina and his entourage have rejected a proposal on the part of Real Madrid.

Barcelona, meanwhile, now look outsiders to land the Croatian, too.

This comes with Baturina inching towards a €25 million winter switch to Ligue 1 giants Paris Saint-Germain.

Conor Laird – GSFN