Southampton sign Croatia international Orsic to boost survival bid

Southampton have signed Croatia winger Mislav Orsic from Dinamo Zagreb in an attempt to boost their Premier League survival hopes.

Orsic – who made six appearances for Croatia at the World Cup in Qatar and scored a sublime winner in their third-place play-off success against Morocco – has signed a two-and-a-half-year deal at St Mary’s.

Southampton reportedly convinced Dinamo to part ways with Orsic by making a bid of £6million plus add-ons after Everton and Nottingham Forest were also linked with the 30-year-old.

Saints sit bottom of the Premier League table and three points adrift of safety after Wednesday’s 1-0 defeat to Forest, their sixth consecutive loss in the competition.

Southampton manager Nathan Jones was only appointed as Ralph Hasenhuttl’s successor in November, but he is already under pressure after becoming the second Saints boss to lose each of his first four Premier League games after Nigel Adkins in the 2012-13 season.

Jones will hope Orsic can transfer his outstanding record against English teams in continental competitions into the Premier League.

Orsic scored the only goal of the game as Dinamo beat Chelsea in their Champions League opener earlier this season, while he also netted a stunning hat-trick in a Europa League win against Tottenham in 2021.

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— Southampton FC (@SouthamptonFC) January 6, 2023