K-League striker Mislav Orsic was delighted after joining the English Premier League, saying, “Something I could only imagine has happened.”

Premier League Southampton announced on their official website on the 7th (Korean time) that they had signed Mislav Orsic from Dinamo Zagreb, Croatia.

He will play in the Premier League for the duration of his contract of 2 years and 6 months. According to British media, the transfer fee is expected to be around 7.5 million pounds (approximately 11.5 billion won).

Orsic is the first foreign player who has gone through the K-League to advance to the Premier League, the ‘dream stage’. 

Orsic, who had not been able to adapt to the second division in Croatia and Italy after the start of his professional life, joined the K-League in 2015 and became known to Korean fans under the registered name ‘Orsha’.

He played for Jeonnam Dragons and Ulsan Hyundai for a total of 3 years, recording 28 goals and 15 assists in 101 games, and was spotlighted as a multi-attack resource that easily creates goals and assists in the K-League.

After that, in the summer of 2018, he moved to Dinamo Zagreb, a prestigious Croatian club, and made a golden return. 

Orsic, who joined Dinamo Zagreb, showed the skills he showed off in Korea on his own stage as well. He scored a hat-trick against Atalanta in the European Football Federation 메이저놀이터 (UEFA) Champions League group stage in September 2019, and later also scored a goal against Chelsea in the Champions League group stage last September, drawing attention. 

Thanks to his team’s performance, Orsic, who was also on the Croatian national team, showed a play that energizes the team as a super joker at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, recording one goal and two assists, drawing attention from many European teams and eventually moving to Southampton. .

Orsic did not hide his joy after entering Southampton.

“I think playing in the Premier League is every footballer’s dream. I’m ready here We hope to help the team achieve their goals.” 

“The Premier League is the best league in the world, and of course I dreamed of it. Now this has happened to me. This is something I always imagined,” he added. 

Looking back on his career in Italy, Korea, China, and Croatia, he said, “It has been a really long road. He’s had an unusual career as a footballer, but he’s really happy and good to be here in the end. I want to go to the stadium as soon as possible and start training.” 

Southampton, who signed Orsic, has been sluggish in the Premier League this season and is at the bottom of the league with 3 wins, 3 draws and 12 losses with 12 points.

Ralph Hasenhüttl, the previous head coach, was fired and Nathan Jones took over as head coach, but the team is still struggling to rebound. 

Orsic also said of Southampton, who are competing for relegation, “The club is in a bit of a difficult situation right now, but I think we have to do it together. Our plan is one. I hope to remain in the Premier League, work hard every day and be happy at the end of the season.”