Baturina after his season at Como under pressure from major offers: Italians write about Premier League and Bayern interest
Martin Baturina is once again at the centre of transfer speculation, but this time the circumstances are significantly different from the period when his departure from Dinamo was merely a matter of the right moment and the right offer. Italian journalist Gianluca Di Marzio reported on 5 June 2026 that two unnamed Premier League clubs are interested in the Como midfielder, with offers expected in the range of 50 to 55 million euros. According to the same report, interest in the Croatian international is not limited only to England, because Bayern Munich had already earlier tried to sound out the situation and follow developments around the player. Como, however, according to those claims, does not intend to rush into a sale and would consider letting Baturina go only in the event of an exceptionally high offer, in the region of around 80 million euros. By 8 June 2026, there had been no official confirmation from Como, Bayern or Premier League clubs about concrete negotiations, so the whole situation must still be viewed as a serious but unofficial transfer story.
Como is currently holding a firm negotiating position
According to a report by the portal GianlucaDiMarzio.com, which specialises in the Italian player market, Baturina has become one of the more important targets for several European clubs after an excellent season in Serie A. The same text states that two English teams are ready to move towards concrete offers of 50 to 55 million euros, but also that Como’s management has so far taken a very firm stance. The Italian report claims that the club from Lombardy does not want to lose a player it considers an important part of the starting eleven and that it would think about a sale only if an offer arrived on the table that would significantly exceed usual market valuations. In that context, a figure of around 80 million euros is mentioned, which would place Baturina among the most expensive outgoing transfers in the history of the Italian club.
Such a position from Como is logical for several reasons. Baturina has a contract until 2030, which was officially confirmed when he arrived from Dinamo in the summer of 2025, so the club is not under immediate pressure from a short contract or an imminent expiry of the cooperation. Como has meanwhile made a major step forward in terms of results, and Football Italia reported at the end of May that the club finished fourth in Serie A and secured qualification for the Champions League for the first time in its history. Such a sporting context further reduces the need to sell a player who has fitted into Cesc Fàbregas’s system and increases the possibility that the club itself will set the terms of any potential transfer. On the other hand, interest from Premier League clubs and Bayern shows that Baturina’s value is no longer based only on potential, but also on the impression he has made in one of Europe’s most demanding leagues.
From record signing to a player around whom a market story is being built
In June 2025, Como officially announced that Baturina was arriving from Dinamo and that he would become a player of the club from 1 July 2025, with a contract until 2030. At the time, his arrival was presented as an important part of the club’s ambitious project, which, after returning to the top level of Italian football, wanted to stabilise itself in Serie A and gradually move closer to European positions. The length of the contract itself already showed then that Como was not buying only a player for one season, but a midfielder around whom a medium-term sporting plan could be developed. One year later, given the new transfer rumours, it is clear that this plan very quickly also gained a strong market dimension.
Como’s official profile for the 2025/26 season states that Baturina recorded 29 appearances, 1,569 minutes, 17 starts and six goals in Serie A. Those numbers by themselves do not fully describe his role, but they show that he did not remain merely a development project or a rotation option. In Fàbregas’s system, according to Italian reports, his importance was particularly linked to his freedom of movement between the lines, his ability to accelerate attacks and his play in the final third of the pitch. It is precisely because of that profile that one can explain why Como, according to Italian media, does not want to accept offers that are already very high in themselves. For a club entering the Champions League, losing a creative midfielder in the early phase of the summer could create a problem that is difficult to solve even with significant transfer income.
Why the Premier League is especially important in this story
The alleged interest of two Premier League clubs carries special weight because the English market often sets the upper price limit for players coming from other European leagues. Italian reports do not currently name the interested clubs, which is an important detail because it avoids the conclusion that these are negotiations already in their final stage. According to the available information, this is not about a completed deal or an official offer that Como has accepted, but about preparing offers and assessing the position of the Italian club. That is exactly why the amount of 50 to 55 million euros should be read as a signal of market interest, not as confirmation that a transfer is close to being completed.
In situations like this, the Premier League also has a reputational effect. When a player who, until a year ago, was playing in the HNL is linked with English clubs, it changes the perception of his career in other leagues as well. Bayern Munich, according to Di Marzio’s report, had already been monitoring the situation earlier and had tried to establish initial contact, which further broadens the framework of the whole story. If the interest from England proves concrete, Como could be in a position to wait for a bidding contest among several financially powerful clubs. If, however, the offers stop below the club’s threshold, the Italian club has the sporting argument to keep Baturina at least for the Champions League season.
Dinamo remains an important part of Baturina’s story
Baturina’s rise at Como cannot be separated from his time at Dinamo, where he went through an important part of his development and earned a reputation as one of the most talented Croatian midfielders of his generation. In its farewell statement from June 2025, Dinamo said that Baturina had spent eight years at the club, that he arrived at Maksimir at the age of 14 and that he began building his senior breakthrough after appearances for the second team. The club described him as a player who gradually became one of the team’s generators, which fits well with the way his role developed even after his move to Italy. The transfer from Dinamo to Como was therefore more than a standard transfer of a young player from a regional league to Serie A; it was a test of whether a technical profile shaped in Croatian football could quickly adapt to greater speed and different tactical demands.
In that sense, Baturina’s example is also important for the wider picture of Croatian football. Dinamo has for years built a reputation as a club that develops players for Europe’s strongest leagues, and Baturina’s rapid growth in market value in Italy further confirms that the development path through Maksimir continues to be closely followed. That does not mean that every such transfer will automatically turn into a sale worth several times more, but it shows how important the choice of environment is for a young player after leaving his parent club. Como gave him space, continuity and a coach who, in his own playing career, understood the role of a midfielder between the lines at the highest level. It was precisely that combination of sporting trust and a competitive league that created the circumstances in which today’s transfer figures became possible.
International status further increases visibility
Baturina has meanwhile remained part of the Croatian national-team picture as well. According to the official profile of the Croatian Football Federation, he is a midfielder born on 16 February 2003, and the HNS record on the day of the check states that he has 19 appearances and one goal for the senior national team. His international status is important because appearances for the national team further increase a player’s visibility on the international market, especially in a year of a major competitive cycle. The Italian portal Get Italian Football News therefore noted in its analysis of interest in Baturina that appearances on the global stage could further increase the attention of clubs already monitoring him. Such assessments should be viewed cautiously because they depend on form, playing time and the decisions of the national coach, but it is clear that the national-team framework plays an important role in the perception of the player.
For Baturina, it is especially important that the discussion is not only about a young talent, but about a footballer who has already passed through several levels of pressure. At Dinamo he played European matches and carried the role of creative midfielder in a club with high expectations, at Como he had to adapt to the rhythm of Serie A, and in the national team he competes in a midfield that traditionally has high standards. That combination of experiences can be just as important for buying clubs as goals or assists statistics. The market for young midfielders often rewards players who, in addition to technique, also have a proven ability to adapt, and it is precisely in that area that Baturina has established himself as an interesting profile.
What a price of 80 million euros would mean
The figure of around 80 million euros, which according to Italian media is mentioned as the threshold for a potential sale, should for now be understood primarily as a negotiating message. Clubs often set high prices not only because they expect someone to pay them immediately, but also to show that the player is not on the market under ordinary conditions. For Como, such a strategy is understandable because Baturina has a long contract, sporting importance and additional value ahead of the club’s Champions League campaign. If the club sold him for a lower amount, it would have to find a replacement at a moment when other clubs know it has fresh income at its disposal. If it keeps him, it can count on his contribution in a season that will be historic for the club.
On the other hand, sums of 50 to 55 million euros already represent a major leap compared with the circumstances of his arrival from Dinamo. This shows how quickly perception can change when a young player from a good development environment confirms his quality in a higher-level league in a short period of time. For interested clubs, the key question is whether they see Baturina as a player who can immediately raise the quality of the team or as an investment whose greatest value would come over two or three seasons. For Como, the key question is whether the sporting loss can be compensated with money at a moment when the team is preparing for a European step forward. For that reason, the current gap between the reported offers and the club’s valuation should not be interpreted only as bargaining, but as a clash of two strategies.
The transfer is far from a done deal
Despite the large figures and the names being mentioned in the Italian media, Baturina’s possible departure from Como has not yet been confirmed at any official level. There is no public confirmation that Como has received a formal offer it is considering, there is no confirmation that Bayern has sent an official proposal, and the Premier League clubs in the reports have not been named. This is important to stress because the summer transfer window often develops through parallel negotiations, intermediary contacts and media signals that do not necessarily end in a transfer. At this moment, the firmest verifiable fact is that Baturina has a long-term contract with Como, that he has had a notable season behind him and that Italian media are linking him with clubs of greater financial strength.
The next steps will depend on whether the interested clubs move beyond the threshold of unofficial interest and send offers that Como would truly have to consider. If they remain at amounts of 50 to 55 million euros, according to the available claims that will not be enough for a quick agreement. If someone tries to come close to 80 million euros, the story could gain new momentum, especially if the player himself were to judge that this is a sporting step he does not want to miss. Until then, Baturina remains a Como player, an important part of Fàbregas’s team and one of the names that will very likely continue to appear in European transfer reports during the summer.
Sources:
- Gianluca Di Marzio – report on interest from Premier League clubs, Bayern’s earlier monitoring and Como’s stance on a possible transfer fee (link)
- Como 1907 – official announcement of Martin Baturina’s arrival and contract until 2030 (link)
- Como 1907 – official player profile and statistics for the 2025/26 Serie A season (link)
- GNK Dinamo – official farewell statement after Baturina’s departure to Como (link)
- Croatian Football Federation – official profile of Martin Baturina in the senior national team (link)
- Football Italia – report on Como’s qualification for the Champions League and the context of the 2025/26 season (link)
- Get Italian Football News – analysis of interest in Baturina and the possible impact of appearances on the big stage (link)