An agreement was reached for a fee of just over 4 million: 2.5 million as a fixed base fee, plus another 2 million in bonuses and a percentage of the player’s future resale value

On one hand, interest in Hajduk Split’s Mlacic had cooled in recent days. On the other, in the last few hours, interest in Dinamo Zagreb’s Leon Jakirovic has surged. Inter seals another “Sucic-style” deal, reaching an agreement with the Croatian club and securing the defender of the future.

The deal has effectively been reached for a fee of just over 4 million: 2.5 million as a fixed base fee, plus another 2 million in bonuses and a percentage of the player’s future resale. Inter beat out competition from at least a handful of other clubs: Jakirovic, a 2008-born defender considered a potential star of European soccer, was also being monitored by Barcelona, Napoli, Stuttgart, and especially Salzburg. But Inter beat everyone to the punch, scheduling the medical exams and the transfer to Milan for the (soon-to-be) former Dinamo Zagreb player.