Dominik Livaković's incredible World Cup campaign has him in the crosshairs of elite clubs

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The otherworldly performances put on by the likes of Lionel Messi have dominated the headlines of the 2022 World Cup, as have some of the less savoury reports surrounding Cristiano Ronaldo. However, this was to be expected. What wasn't foreseen by most was the surge from Japan, Morocco, and Croatia, with the latter being driven onward by the stellar showings from goalkeeper Dominik Livaković. The Zadar-born shot-stopper was hailed throughout for his timely stops and penalty shootout prowess. As is always the case with any top performer on the biggest stage of the sport, reports of interest from elite clubs started to whip up when the knockout stages got underway.

A superb World Cup for Dominik Livaković

Livaković's legend was secured before the semi-final against Argentina even began. Coming into the game, he was the 13/10 favourite in the World Cup betting 2022 markets to win the FIFA Golden Glove. At the time, he had stiff competition from Morocco's Yassine Bounou, but "Bono" didn't have the Croatian's penalty record. First, though, Livaković had to help Croatia escape what always looked to be a tough Group F, but for very different reasons in the end. Belgium ended up being a non-factor, but Morocco joined Croatia in the semi-finals, and Canada put up a great fight early in the game. While he did keep three clean sheets and only conceded once in Group F, Livaković really made a name for himself in the knockout stages. After seeing the extra-time end 1-1, it went to penalties against Japan. The shots may have been lacklustre, but the Croatian goalie saved three of four to earn passage. Next, Brazil came to stop the European underdogs in their tracks. A scoreless 90 minutes opened up with just 14 minutes left of extra time, with some perfect play from Brazil getting Neymar in and around Livaković. Still, Croatia managed to level, and to thank his comrades, Livaković stopped the first Brazilian penalty.

Before the final, teams were on the hunt

Few would deny Livaković as one of, if not the breakout performer of the 2022 FIFA World Cup, and those who perform in this small window invariably get interest and are often transferred to bigger clubs. Livaković is already at the biggest club in his home nation, Dinamo Zagreb, so it'd take a fair offer to pry the goalie abroad. As far as leagues go, they don't get bigger than the Premier League, with there being plenty of teams in need of a reliable, emphatic goalie like the Croatian. At the front of the queue, it would seem, is Leicester City's £9 million. He was offered to the Foxes in the summer for up to that fee, but now they really need a trusty goalie. As far as teams go, they don't get much bigger than Bayern Munich. The Bavarians have lost their long-time goalie and captain Manuel Neuer for the season just after Germany was unceremoniously booted from the World Cup. It was reported that Manuel Neuer, on 10 December, broke his leg while skiing. If the reports hold up that Livaković was offered to Premier League clubs for up to £9 million in the summer, it'd be fair to say that the price has since risen, perhaps to the £12 million mark. Either way, he made a name for himself in Qatar and commanded the world's attention.