Thursday 3 April 2014 13:32, UK
Dinamo Zagreb manager Zoran Mamic has insisted that Alen Halilovic will still be joining Barcelona at the end of the season.
Barcelona have been hit with a 14-month transfer ban by FIFA after it was deemed that they had breached rules relating to the ‘international transfers of non-Spanish minors".
They will appeal the decision but at the moment Barca are facing the prospect of not being able to sign any players in the next two transfer windows.
The news has cast doubt over Halilovic’s future, after Barca agreed a deal with Dinamo Zagreb last month to bring in the Croatian teenager this summer.
Reports on Thursday suggested that Manchester City and Manchester United were among a host of high-profile clubs to have been put on alert by the possibility availability of a 17-year-old dubbed the ‘new Lionel Messi’ in some quarters.
However, Dinamo’s manager Mamic, who is also the club’s director of sport, has already discussed the issue with Barca and says the move is still on.
“I called the Barcelona board and got an assurance that the sentence does not affect the transfer of Alen Halilovic,” Mamic told Sportske novosti.
“Everything is fine, there is no need for speculation. Alen will move to Barcelona after this season, that is for sure.
“The contract is signed and you can be sure that nothing unusual will happen.”
Borussia Monchengladbach goalkeeper Marc-Andre ter Stegen is another player who had been expected to join Barcelona at the end of the season until the transfer ban was imposed.
Ter Stegen has made it clear that he still plans to leave Monchengladbach, and reports in Spain suggest that Arsenal and Manchester City could now make a move.
