Real Madrid: Lovro Majer emerges as Modric's heir for Croatia

Croatian football has long been an interminable production line of central midfielders who stand out due to their exceptional technical quality. Over the last decade alone the World Cup runners-up have produced the talents of Luka Modric, Mateo Kovacic, Marcelo Brozovic and Ivan Rakitic, a list to which the name of Lovro Majer has now been added. Majer, a 23-year-old midfielder shot to the attention of the wider public last Sunday with an exhibition against Lyon, the youngster named man of the match in a 4-1 drubbing of the Ligue 1 heavyweights by Bruno Génésio’s side.

Majer grew up with Real Madrid midfielder Modric as his idol (as seen above he was a mascot at a Dinamo Zagreb match 10 years ago) going on to play for the same club for three years before signing for Rennes last summer for €12 million after catching the eye of scouts from across Europe in the Croatian top flight. Although it took him a while to find his feet in Ligue 1, Majer has now become a key member of Génésio’s side in their push for Champions League qualification.

Left-footed, elegant on the ball and a player whose head is always up, Majer is the latest product of the Croatian midfield factory who is aspiring to replace Modric as number 10 for the national team when the 36-year-old decides to call it a day. Majer has already been capped twice by Croatia and his move to Ligue 1 is expected to consolidate his place in the plans of Zlatko Dalić ahead of the World Cup next year.

Majer is widely regarded as one of the biggest talents to have emerged from the Baltics in the last five years and Rennes stole a march on several wealthier European clubs to snap up the Dinamo Zagreb last summer.