Transfer deadline passed relatively quietly for Croatian players and clubs. The bigger deal came in form of Swiss born Croat Mario Gavranovic who joins German Bundesliga club Schalke from Neuchatel Xamax. The 20 year old has scored 8 goals this season and is a Swiss Under 21 international.
In the Belgian Juperliga playmaker Ivan Leko has joined struggling Lokoren on loan from Germinal Beerscot. 31 year old Leko will teammates with countryman Mario Carevic and Tomislav Sokota. Brescia however failed in their bed to lure Sasa Bjelanovic from Vicenza. Bjelanovic has scored 4 times this season.
In HNL1 Rijeka agreed to sign midfielder Stjepan Poljak should he gain his free papers from Turkish club Eskierespor. The 26 year old should prove an asset to Rijeka who allowed Nastja Ceh and Mirslav Karoglan to leave the club this week. One player going to the Turkish league is former Croatian international Stjepan Tomas. The 33 year old has signed on a six month deal with Gaziantespor. Tomas arrives on a free transfer after winning two back to back Russian league titles with Rubin Kazan.
Former HNL1 stars Mate Brajkovic and Sergej Jakirovic have returned to Croatia after being released by clubs abroad. Brajkovic had been playing with Albanian side Flamuntari, who he joined after successful spells with Rijeka, Zadar and Kamen Ingrad. The 29 year old has dropped down the Croatia's third tier with Velecenica. Former Bosnian international Jakirovic however has signed with NK Lucko. Jakirovic, now 33 enjoyed spells with CSKA Sofia, NK Zagreb and Rijeka.
Osijek forward Karlo Primorac has terminated his contract with the club and signed with Dinamo Zagreb. The 25 year old had been on trial with Eintract Frankfurt in the winter, but having scored just 11 times in the last two seasons were unconvinced by his goalscoring prowess. Dinamo on the other hand may have an ideal replacement to fill in for Nino Bule at Lokomotiva next season. Primorac could also prove a useful squad player for Dinamo in the remainder of the current HNL1 campaign. Goran Mujanovic, meanwhile has ruled out a switch to Shanghai Shenua after failing to agree terms after talks in China. The news will alert Slaven Belupo who see Mujanovic as a fitting replacement for Bojan Vrucina. Mujanovic is also wanted by Rijeka who were thrawted in their bid to acquire Stjepan Poljak due to the players registration problems.
