Alen Halilovic’s future has been the subject of a lot of speculation in the past couple of months and his absence from the Barcelona squad which returned for pre-season has certainly added more substance to the rumours surrounding him. Halilovic is reportedly a subject of interest for German club Hamburg and they are keen to add him to their squad.
He has also missed Barcelona’s scheduled medical tests ahead of the new season and rumours say that negotiations are going on between Barcelona and Hamburg over a deal and it is almost a certainty that Halilovic will leave Camp Nou. The transfer fee is believed to be around €5m.
Halilovic is Croatia’s youngest ever debutant and one of the hot prospects in European football. Valencia is also interested in signing the youngster but Hamburg are well and truly leading the race for his signature. Barcelona would probably insert a buy-back clause in the deal which is something that all the top clubs do these days and it obviously is a smart piece of business.
Also Read: Scout Report: Alen Halilovic - The next big La Masia star?
Alvaro Morata’s return to Real Madrid has just demonstrated the importance of buy-back clauses. Barcelona would be hoping that Halilovic would add much-needed consistency to his game and do justice to his talents and they can sign him again in the future.
The 20-year-old arrived in Barcelona for a fee of €2.2 million from Croatian side Dinamo Zagreb in 2014. He played for Barca B in the 2014-15 season before spending last season on loan at Sporting Gijon. He played a key role in their mission to avoid the drop.
It is obvious that Halilovic’s progress as a player would be stagnated if he chooses to spend next season at Camp Nou. He could learn a lot from the likes of Lionel Messi, Luis Suarez, Neymar Jr and Andres Iniesta but the amount of game time he would get will be really low.
It is vital for a player of Halilovic’s age that he plays regularly which would catalyse the progress of his game and it is beyond doubt that the Croat would not get a lot of time on the pitch, considering the presence world-class individuals in the Barcelona squad.
He is still young and has time on his side to become a world class player that, the Croatian fans believe he is destined to be but, it all depends on the decisions he makes. There are a lot of players who showed a lot of promise at a young age but, failed to do just to their calibre later on.
Hopefully, Halilovic’s name would not be added to that very long list.
