Tottenham had a scout at the Croatian cup final on Wednesday to watch midfielder Ivan Lepinjica, according to Scouts in Attendance.
The 19-year-old starred in a 3-1 win for HNK Rijeka over Dinamo Zagreb, and it is understood that the Champions League finalists have been keeping tabs on the youngster.
The 6’2″ [Transfermarkt] teenager has enjoyed a stellar campaign for the Croatian side, and has hit two goals from a deep-lying role since making the step up to the senior side earlier this season.
#thfc scout watched 19yo Rijeka DMF Ivan Lepinjica in Croatian cup final on Weds….#atalanta #fiorentina #udinese prev linkedhttps://t.co/67OprM2oGO pic.twitter.com/lGtgdd8Umu
— Scouts in Attendance (@scoutsattending) May 24, 2019
Good move for Tottenham?
Tottenham have a decent history of picking up Croatian midfielders that barely anybody has heard of, and while Lepinjica is a different sort of player to Luka Modric, if he could achieve even 10% of what his compatriot has, then the teenager will be some player indeed. Spurs need cover in that engine room area. The youngster may not be Premier League quality yet, but if there was one man capable of bringing him on and turning him into a top talent, then you would bet it is Mauricio Pochettino. This could be a real steal.
This is Futbol rating: 7/10
Likely to happen?
Lepinjica is clearly a player, and while a scouting mission is not guarantee of anything, every move has to start somewhere. You would hope that Spurs have seen enough from him to make a move, especially because any fee would likely be relatively cheap compared to other more high profile targets, but whether or not this one has enough to get off the ground is really anybody’s guess at this stage.
This is Futbol rating: 6/10