Dinamo Zagreb President Denies Manchester United £30m Deal For Croatian Trio

Dinamo Zagreb President Mirko Barisic has quashed rumors that Manchester United chief David Gill was in Zagreb this week to negotiate a £30m deal for three of the clubs young stars – 16-year-old Alen Halilovic, 18-year-old Mateo Kovacic and Sime Vrsaljko.

“Yes, I heard that besides those three Alex Ferguson wants to buy me too!,” said Barisic, before adding. “I think I told you everything about this, there are offers for our players, but that story (about Manchester United) is complete fabrication. I have already said that Kovacic and Halilovic that we have no intention to sell them for now,” reported Croatian sports daily Sportske novosti.

Halilovic, who has been compared already with Luka Modric, has been a target also for Manchester United’s rivals Manchester City. There were rumours in the British press that Gill was confident after his trip to Croatia that he had secured the services of Halilovic, who was the youngest player ever to score in the Croatian First Division.