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So, Birmingham fans, what will you get with Lovro Majer... (a thread) https://twitter.com/bcfc_news/status/1286954367153844224
When Majer joined Dinamo in 2018, it was a bit of a surprise in that he was heavily courted by Celtic, Newcastle, Sampdoria, etc. If he joined from anywhere else than Dinamo’s farm club, he’d have been going elsewhere. They struck a very good financial deal.
Why? Well, Majer is quite the talent. He isn’t the most physical player going but has quick feet, a fabulous range of passing and, crucially, is as reliable and dangerous a passer/crosser from a dead ball as they come.
At Lokomotiva, he was part of a midfield of him, Ivanusec and Sunjic, which is a quite absurdly talented young central three but they all had well defined roles - Sunjic carried water and did the dirty business, Ivanusec drove forward and pressed, Majer dictated play.
So, what happened in the past two years to take Majer from legitimately one of the best young midfielders in world football to being on the brink of joining a team that survived relegation to the third tier of English football by two points/Wigan?
On joining Dinamo, they discovered Majer had been playing with a nagging ankle injury which flared up in pre-season which required surgery. The result was Majer missed the first half season of being at Dinamo.
Fit, Majer would have likely been a key midfielder. Injured, manager Nenad Bjelica moved a former winger into CAM. That winger was Dani Olmo. The rest is history.
When Majer was fit, Dinamo were an awesome side to watch both domestically and in Europe. His path back into the first team was blocked and, when opportunities came, he was asked to play unfamiliar roles - he didn’t really adapt.
This season has been equally frustrating for similar reasons. Playing time was limited in the first half of the season to being a rotational choice, meaning he moved around the midfield not really playing a set role.
Majer was strongly tipped to leave over the winter - he was openly agitating in the press for it before Xmas but, once Olmo went, he was promised more of a role and stayed. It didn’t work out due to Dinamo’s instability this season.
Now, the old Majer is still there. Last night vs Varazdin, he was given the role he wanted with the support he wanted and he ran the game against a very in form team, scoring and assisting. But all Dinamo’s big players were sent on holiday last week so that Majer played...
...showed his status in the side - playing with the outcasts and the kids. Dinamo was simply a bad move and due to injury and a lack of adaptability, it’s ending in frustration and acrimony. And Birmingham.
But will he do well for a different set of blues? Well, with Sunjic behind him, he is already going to have a team that plays with the defensive support he likes. Gardner will also likely be the runner alongside him he needs to do his stuff. In short, it’s a good fit and...
...if it works, we’ll swiftly see that he’s far better than that level. Because he most certainly can be.
There endeth about the only thread on the English Championship I’ve ever done. Gives me a reason to watch it other than Mitro
Oh, and have some clips of Majer doing his thing...
https://twitter.com/timomouse/status/1157607454672334851?s=21 https://twitter.com/timomouse/status/1157607454672334851
https://twitter.com/timomouse/status/1157607454672334851?s=21 https://twitter.com/timomouse/status/1157607454672334851
And another...
https://twitter.com/timomouse/status/1099912555001233408?s=21 https://twitter.com/timomouse/status/1099912555001233408
https://twitter.com/timomouse/status/1099912555001233408?s=21 https://twitter.com/timomouse/status/1099912555001233408
And from a dead ball... https://twitter.com/timomouse/status/1264239246442971137?s=21 https://twitter.com/timomouse/status/1264239246442971137
And it doesn’t have Majer but any excuse to show Dinamo execute one of the best counter-attacks in the history of the Europa League https://twitter.com/timomouse/status/1098647178191536130?s=21 https://twitter.com/timomouse/status/1098647178191536130
