Dinamo ahead of Thun return leg: key positions still open questions
The Blues play a decisive match on Tuesday for Champions League entry, but the transfer window has yet to provide clear answers regarding goalkeeper, midfield, or attack.
The Blues play a decisive match on Tuesday for Champions League entry, but the transfer window has yet to provide clear answers regarding goalkeeper, midfield, or attack.
GNK Dinamo Zagreb on Tuesday, July 28, 2026 at 8 PM, hosts FC Thun at Maksimir for the second leg of the second qualifying round for the Champions League, with a series of personnel questions left unanswered. The summer transfer window of the Maksimir club, according to Index.hr Sport analysis, can hardly be described as anything other than unusual, and the management's vision is currently almost impossible to decipher from the outside.
The most burning issue concerns the first-choice goalkeeper. Dominik Livaković, who plays for Fenerbahçe, has expressed a desire to return to Dinamo, and the club was ready to offer him acceptable terms. The problem arose at Fenerbahçe itself, which is going through a management crisis, making it difficult to negotiate. Livaković's agent Andy Bara traveled to Istanbul to resolve the situation, but there are no signs of a quick solution. The match in Thun clearly showed how much the backup goalkeeper options lag behind Livaković, and Dinamo could earn between 30 and 35 million euros by entering the Champions League. The question is how long the club can wait, especially since a new goalkeeper who is not Livaković would need additional time to adapt to teammates and the atmosphere.
Some positions were resolved in a timely manner. Center-back Stjepan Radeljić was agreed upon last season and joined the team after the World Cup as a reliable rotation option with extensive experience in the SuperSport HNL. The most notable transfer of this window is the return of Mislav Oršić, who already started the first match against Thun. Dani Rodriguez also arrived, who can cover both wing positions, but due to an injury, he will miss the first matches of the season. With Rodriguez, Dinamo hopes for a scenario similar to that of Sergij Dominguez, from whom the club expects roughly a fourfold return on investment after just one season.
Dinamo is currently thinnest right in the middle of the pitch. In Thun, suspended Luka Stojković did not play, nor will he in the return leg. Josip Mišić and Miha Zajc started as expected, while Gabriel Vidović, who is yet to fully develop as a box-to-box midfielder, took Stojković's position. On the bench, coach Mario Kovačević had only two midfielders: Lukas Kačavenda, who played little on loan in Austria last season, and Sven Šunta, who still needs to mature. For a serious fight on all fronts, especially in the Champions League or Europa League, that is not enough. The transfer of Israeli midfielder Dor Peretz fell through in a bizarre way more than a month ago, and Dinamo has not yet found an alternative.
The situation in the attacking line is equally confusing. Just before the start of the season, news emerged that forward Monsef Bakrar wants to leave the club and join Egypt's Al Ahly, and the amount of three million euros mentioned would be more than decent for Dinamo. However, on the away trip to Switzerland, where Dinamo was desperately lacking a clinical finisher, Bakrar did not get a single minute. At the same time, Aleks Stojaković arrived at the club, and the arrival of Smail Prevljak is close, who could replace Dione Drena Beljo. Additionally, negotiations are underway with Noah Nsoki, a winger from PSG. Exactly how Dinamo's frontline is envisioned, who are the starters and who are the backups, remains unclear for now.
Despite the personnel uncertainties, fan support is not lacking. According to the club's social media announcement, both lower stands of Maksimir were sold out four days before the return match, and available seats remained only in the upper sections. Coach Mario Kovačević had major problems with minute management last season, leading to a group of dissatisfied players leaving. Returning to a situation where he must balance more than 23 or 24 players does not seem like an ideal scenario. Dinamo's season has already started, and with the most important matches, the answers to key personnel questions are still pending.
