Southampton have completed the signing of Croatia international Mislav Orsic from Dinamo Zagreb.
The 30-year-old has put pen to paper on a two-and-a-half-year contract and moves to St Mary's in a deal believed to be worth around £8m.
Orsic becomes Nathan Jones's first signing of the January transfer window, and the attacker is excited to fulfil his boyhood dream of playing in the Premier League.
Speaking to Southampton's official website, Orsic said: "I feel very happy to be here. I think it's a dream for every football player to come to play in the Premier League and I'm here, I'm ready, I'm motivated and I hope that I will help the team to achieve their goals.
"When you grow up watching football, all the time the Premier League is on the TV, the best league in the world and of course you dream about it.
"You hope one day you will go there. Now this has happened to me, I'm really happy. This is like I always imagined: a big club in England, all the time playing in the Premier League.
✍️ #SaintsFC is delighted to confirm the signing of winger Mislav Oršić from #DinamoZagreb:
— Southampton FC (@SouthamptonFC) January 6, 2023
"Now it's a little bit of a difficult situation for the club, but I think we need to stay together. We have only one plan – everybody to stay in the Premier League, we need to work hard every day and I hope that at the end of the year we will be happy."
Jones added: "Mislav is a significant addition to our squad and I'm delighted we have been able to get him in so quickly this month.
"He's a serious attacking threat and I'm sure anyone who has followed his progress or saw what he achieved at the World Cup will realise the talent he has. We're excited to have him here."
Orsic began his professional career with Croatian club Inter Zapresic, before experiencing spells in Italy, Slovenia, South Korea and China across a five-year period.
The Zagreb-born attacker then returned to his boyhood club in 2018 and established himself as a star player, recording 91 goals and 40 assists in 216 appearances across all competitions.
Orsic won four successive Croatian top-flight titles, one Croatian Cup and two Croatian Super Cups during his time with Zagreb, while he also boasts plenty of experience in European competition.
© Reuters
Indeed, Orsic developed a reputation of finding the net against English clubs in Europe, firstly scoring a memorable hat-trick for Zagreb against Tottenham Hotspur to knock them out of the 2020 Europa League.
He also scored against West Ham United in the same competition last season, before netting the only goal in a famous 1-0 win over Chelsea in the Champions League group stage in September.
Orsic recently represented Croatia at the 2022 World Cup, scoring once and registering two assists in six appearances as the Checkered Ones finished third in Qatar.
Southampton's latest recruit is not expected to feature against Crystal Palace in the FA Cup third round on Saturday lunchtime, but he could be in a position to make his debut against Manchester City in the quarter-finals of the EFL Cup.
Orsic joins the Saints at a time when they currently sit rock bottom of the Premier League table, three points adrift from safety.
Oliver Thomas
