Graham Potter did not fancy the idea of taking Martin Baturina to West Ham United. Fortunately for Champions League-bound Como, Cesc Fabregas did not have the same reservations about the classy Croatia international.
If there is any coach you would trust to spot a world-class midfielder in the making, it is the man who racked up no fewer than 15 pieces of silverware in the colours of Arsenal, Barcelona, Chelsea and Spain.
Towards the end of what turned out to be a highly-successful debut season on Italian soil, Fabregas found himself raving about Martin Baturina’s ‘immense talent’. As far as Graham Potter was concerned, the issue with Baturina was not one of talent but of athleticism.
How do you think Tuchel is feeling about omitting Jarrod Bowen NOW?
England were dreadful vs Ghana… 🏴 🇬🇭
According to West Ham United insiders Claret and Hugh, Potter turned his nose up at a man who would later join Como from Dinamo Zagreb for around £20 million. Potter is alleged to have preferred ‘a more athletic, physically-imposing option’ while the Hammers were unwilling to ‘offer any such assurances’ regarding game-time in the Premier League.
Now, if only there was another diminutive Croatian playmaker Potter could have looked at to ease his concerns…
Martin Baturina living up to ‘next Modric’ label after West Ham United snub
Baturina has been labelled the second-coming of Luka Modric back home. In their opening two matches of the 2026 World Cup, the partnership between a 40-year-old Modric and a man 17 years his junior feels like a bonafide ‘passing of the baton’ moment played out in real time, on the global stage.
On a night when Modric looked every one of his 40 years, Baturina offered a glimmer of hope for the next generation of Croatian talent. The latter would cancel out a penalty given away by the former in Dallas.
Eighteen minutes after Harry Kane’s successfully re-taken spot-kick, Baturina left Jordan Pickford grasping with a first-time effort that was both supremely powerful but also beautifully placed.
This is starting to become something of a trademark; fizzing shots drilled into the corners from the edge of the penalty area.
On matchday two, as Croatia edged past a spirited Panama, Baturina was again the stand-out performer. There were shades of Mateus Fernandes – a midfielder whose signature Potter did give the green light for – when he burst past one, two, three Panama players while somehow keeping his balance.
Cesc Fabregas’ Como now value Baturina at £70m
At a pint-sized 5ft 8ins, Baturina does not look like the most imposing of operators. But the way he puts that low centre of gravity to good use while turning on the afterburners – his blustering ball-carrying is reminiscent of both Fernandes and a younger Modric – suggests that this is not a midfielder who will be held back by a lack of height.
Small in size, giant in talent and personality.
Cry joins a very exclusive club! But who is YOUR pick to be the World Cup’s top scorer?
👟 ⚽ 🇳🇱
Croatian publication Jutarnji List, following that 4-2 defeat by England, went as far as to describe Baturina as the future of the national team. The foundation upon which the post-Modric generation can be built.
Speculation suggesting that he is now a £70 million target for a number of deep-pocketed Premier League clubs reflects as poorly on Graham Potter as it does highly on Fabregas and Como.
“[Baturina] is very intelligent and, defensively, he’s at a very high level too,” Fabregas said after Baturina warmed up for the World Cup by masterminding a 6-0 thrashing of Torino.
“I want to find the best conditions to express himself at his best.”
If Potter had shared Fabregas’ willingness to take a chance on Martin Baturina, Mateus Fernandes might not have been the only London Stadium midfielder with a price-tag in excess of £70 million.
Receive a digest of our best West Ham content each week direct to your mailbox
