Dinamo signs Smail Prevljak: transfer unveiled by interrupting a radio program for „breaking news”
Smail Prevljak is Dinamo's new striker. On July 27, 2026, the Zagreb club officially confirmed the arrival of the 31-year-old footballer from Istra 1961, presenting the transfer to the public with a short video designed as an interruption of a radio program because of „breaking news”. The club's announcement stated that the Bosnia and Herzegovina center-forward would wear the number 14 shirt and that his experience and eye for goal should increase the attacking options available to coach Mario Kovačević's team. Dinamo did not disclose the financial details or the duration of the contract, but several media outlets reported that Prevljak had signed for two years, with an option to extend for another season. According to the same reports, Istra 1961 is expected to receive a transfer fee of around 800,000 euros.
The transfer comes after a season in which Prevljak adapted very quickly to Croatian club football and became one of the most important players in the Pula-based team. In the official biography of its new striker, Dinamo stated that he scored 15 goals in 34 competitive appearances for Istra 1961. Fourteen of them came in the league, which placed him among the most successful scorers in the SuperSport Croatian Football League in the 2025/26 season, while he added one goal in the cup competition. Such a return was enough to attract the attention of a club that enters every season under the pressure of competing for domestic trophies and achieving results in Europe. Prevljak's arrival is therefore not merely a squad addition, but also a move through which Dinamo gains a striker who is already familiar with the league, its opponents and the demands of the competition.
Presentation in the style of a radio breaking-news bulletin
In recent years, Dinamo has frequently used short, thematically designed videos to introduce new players, and Prevljak's arrival was announced in the form of a sudden interruption to a radio program. The message „We interrupt this program because of breaking news” served as an introduction to the confirmation of the transfer, after which the club also published basic information about the new striker on its official channels. This type of presentation quickly focused attention on a transfer that had already been the subject of media reports several days before the official confirmation. The club's announcement, however, remained focused on the sporting aspect of the deal: experience, finishing ability and stronger competition in attack. The number 14, which Prevljak has taken, will be his first recognizable detail at his new club.
Although the official confirmation arrived on July 27, negotiations between Dinamo and Istra 1961 lasted several days, according to reports by Sportske novosti and other media outlets. It was reported that the Zagreb club's initial offer was around 500,000 euros, while Istra was seeking approximately one million euros. A final amount of around 800,000 euros would represent a compromise between those starting positions, but that figure was not published in the clubs' official statements. The same applies to the reported two-year duration of the contract with an option for an additional season. For that reason, the financial and contractual details should be regarded as information confirmed by the media rather than data published directly by Dinamo.
Fifteen goals in one season changed his status
Prevljak joined Istra 1961 in the summer of 2025 after two seasons at Hertha in Berlin and immediately took on an important role at the focal point of the attack. He scored 14 league goals, and his effectiveness was not limited only to matches against teams from the lower part of the table. The official SuperSport HNL website highlighted him, for example, as the hero of Istra's away victory over Rijeka in March 2026, when he contributed a goal and an assist. Earlier in the season, he scored a hat-trick in a convincing victory over Osijek, in a match in which he also recorded two assists in addition to his three goals. Matches of this kind showed that he can be both a finisher and an important link in attacking moves.
For Dinamo, it is particularly important that Prevljak arrives without needing a lengthy period to become familiar with the rhythm of the Croatian championship. He has already played against the defenses he will face again, understands the nature of away matches and stadiums, and has a season behind him in which he regularly carried a large share of the attacking responsibility. At Istra, he often had to play in matches with less possession and fewer chances than Dinamo traditionally creates. In Zagreb, he could therefore receive more passes in the final third, but he will also face a different type of pressure, because Dinamo's strikers are expected to score consistently in the domestic league, the cup and European matches. His performance in Pula provides a strong foundation, but the true value of the transfer will depend on how quickly he can carry that efficiency into a team with greater ambitions.
New competition in Mario Kovačević's attack
With Prevljak's arrival, coach Mario Kovačević gains a traditional center-forward who has played in different systems and leagues during his career. His profile differs from that of wingers and players who more often arrive in finishing positions from deeper areas, giving Dinamo an additional option for matches in which it must attack against a deep defensive block. Prevljak can play with his back to goal, look for space between the center-backs and react to crosses, but at Istra he also showed that he can take part in combinations and set up a goal for a teammate. Dion Drena Beljo, one of the most prominent strikers in the Croatian league during the previous season, is already in the squad, creating opportunities both for rotation and for different attacking partnerships. The competition should reduce dependence on a single goalscorer during periods with a large number of matches.
Media reports also connect the transfer with changes elsewhere in Dinamo's attacking line. Sportske novosti reported that Mounsef Bakrar was close to leaving the club and that Prevljak was arriving as one of the solutions to fill the space created after his departure. Since the official squad page had not yet fully reflected all changes at the time the transfer was announced, the final attacking hierarchy will also depend on further business during the summer transfer window. Dinamo must simultaneously consider domestic competitions and its European schedule, which means that squad depth is not merely a question of competition but also of workload management. Prevljak's experience in Austria, Belgium, Germany and with the Bosnia and Herzegovina national team should provide additional value in that context.
The journey from Konjic through Salzburg to Zagreb
Smail Prevljak was born on May 10, 1995, in Konjic, where he took his first footballing steps at Igman. According to Dinamo's official biography, he joined the RB Leipzig academy in 2013 and made his debut for the first team, before moving into the Salzburg system a year later. He spent part of his development at Liefering, the development team associated with Salzburg, and also played for Austria's Mattersburg. During six years connected with Salzburg, he won four Austrian league titles and three national cups. That period gave him experience of working at a club that insists on high intensity, strong pressing and rapid transitions from defense to attack.
He enjoyed his most productive period outside Austria at Belgium's Eupen. Dinamo states that he played 99 matches for the club, scored 42 goals and added 11 assists, making him one of the team's most important strikers over three and a half seasons. He then moved to Hertha, where he was unable to establish himself with the same effectiveness over two years as he had in Belgium. His return to the region through the transfer to Istra 1961 proved to be a move that restored his scoring consistency and brought him back to the center of transfer-market interest. Dinamo is now counting on that upward trend continuing at a higher competitive level.
Such a journey gives Prevljak experience that goes beyond the statistics of a single good season. He has played in leagues of different intensity, for teams that dominated and for those that had to adapt to stronger opponents. At Salzburg, he experienced the expectation of winning trophies; at Eupen, the responsibility of being a regular goalscorer; and at Hertha, the pressure of a major club and a demanding environment. Istra then offered him continuity of playing time and a central role, which he used to return to his best numbers. It is precisely this combination of experience that may be the reason Dinamo opted for a striker in the mature phase of his career rather than a development project that would require more time.
Senior international experience with Bosnia and Herzegovina
Prevljak also has senior international experience behind him. In its transfer announcement, Dinamo stated that he had made 27 appearances and scored six goals for Bosnia and Herzegovina. The Football Association of Bosnia and Herzegovina lists his appearances in qualifiers, friendly matches and Nations League fixtures in its database, although the publicly available profile was not regularly updated after his period at Hertha. His most notable international moments came during a cycle in which he received roles both as a starter and a substitute alongside more experienced strikers. The most recent appearances recorded on the association's official website are linked to the period up to March 2024, so it is currently unclear whether his transfer to Dinamo will open the way for a new call-up.
For a player who wants to return to the national-team plans, Dinamo offers visibility through domestic derbies and European matches. Regular playing time, goals in important fixtures and appearances at international level often have a greater impact on status than the club transfer itself. On the other hand, competition in Zagreb will be stronger than it was at Istra, so Prevljak will first have to secure a stable role in Kovačević's system. His age means that the club is not buying a player for long-term development, but for a relatively rapid sporting impact. That is precisely why the assessment of the transfer will very quickly become linked to his number of goals, his contribution in European qualifiers and his ability to ease the burden on the other strikers.
What the transfer means for Istra 1961
For Istra 1961, the departure of its leading scorer represents a sporting loss, but also confirmation that the club can sign a player without paying a transfer fee, give him an important role and generate transfer income one year later. If the amount of around 800,000 euros is confirmed, the Pula club will receive significant revenue for a player who arrived as a free agent. Such a deal can help with the further construction of the team, but it does not remove the need to replace the 15 goals from the previous season. Istra had already been working on squad changes during the summer, and Prevljak's departure further increases the importance of finding new solutions in attack. For a club seeking to remain in the stable part of the top-flight competition, finding a reliable goalscorer will be one of the key issues of the new season.
Prevljak's transfer also demonstrates how much one successful season can change the market position of an experienced player. He arrived in Pula after a period in which his playing time and output in Germany had not been at the level of earlier years, but in Croatia he once again gained continuity and a clearly defined role. In return, Istra gained goals, assists and a leading figure in attack, while the player received the opportunity to move to a club with greater sporting and financial capacity. Such a relationship is an example of a model from which both the club and the footballer can benefit. The final assessment for Istra will nevertheless depend on how it invests the income and how successfully it replaces his contribution.
Experience instead of adaptation as the key to Dinamo's decision
With this transfer, Dinamo has selected a relatively low-risk solution in terms of familiarity with the competition. Prevljak is not a player who still needs to be assessed on the basis of performances in a less comparable league, but a striker whose abilities Croatian coaching staffs and defenses became familiar with throughout the entire previous season. His arrival does not automatically guarantee the same number of goals, because in Zagreb he will face a different distribution of minutes, stronger competition and defensive blocks that are often set up very deep. Nevertheless, his experience at Salzburg and Eupen shows that he knows how to perform in teams that demand regular output from him. Dinamo is therefore gaining a player who should be ready to help immediately, without a long transition period.
His first appearances will show whether Kovačević plans to use him as direct competition for Beljo, as a partner in a system with two strikers or as a specialized solution for certain types of matches. His play inside the penalty area could be especially useful when Dinamo has a large share of possession but struggles to find the final pass through a congested defense. At the same time, his experience of playing in transition leaves open the possibility that he can also be dangerous when the team does not have complete control. For Prevljak, the transfer represents an opportunity to play again, at the age of 31, for a club that regularly sets winning trophies as its fundamental objective. For Dinamo, it is an investment in proven finishing ability and squad depth, with the expectation that last season's goals from Pula will also move to Maksimir.
Sources:
- GNK Dinamo Zagreb – official confirmation of the transfer, shirt number, biography and club statistics of Smail Prevljak (link)
- Sportske novosti – report on the negotiations, estimated transfer fee, contract duration and the role of the transfer in Dinamo's attack (link)
- SuperSport HNL – official statistics page for goalscorers in the Croatian championship (link)
- SuperSport HNL – interview and report on Prevljak's goal and assist in Istra 1961's victory over Rijeka (link)
- SuperSport HNL – report on his hat-trick and two assists against Osijek (link)
- Football Association of Bosnia and Herzegovina – official profile, biographical information and record of international appearances (link)
- Sport Klub – confirmation of the method used to present the transfer, with a message interrupting the program because of breaking news (link)