Luka Ivanušec Scout Report At Dinamo Zagreb 2021/2022 – How His Breakthrough Campaign Earned Him A Euro 2020 Callup

Luka Ivanusec is a versatile midfielder who made a name for himself in the 1.HNL in recent years with the 2020/21 campaign being a breakthrough season, as he shone for both club and country on the European stage.

The 22-year-old was part of the Croatia U-21 side for the U-21 European Championship and also made it to the senior squad for EURO 2020.

While he made his debut for Croatia back in 2017, when he also became the youngest goalscorer for the national side, this marked a significant step up in his career and has already led to his transfer value tripling, according to Transfermarkt.

This scout report will contain a tactical analysis of Ivanušec attributes and his playing style.

Through the analysis, we will try to mention his strengths and weaknesses. 

Luka Ivanušec Player overview

Luka Ivanušec is a 22-year-old attacking midfielder, and Transfermarkt values him at €13.5 million.

Ivanušec is listed at 175 cm, and he is predominantly right-footed.

This seaso,n he played in multiple positions for Dinamo Zagreb and looked impressive no matter where he played.

Ivanusec usually played as a winger on the left flank, although he was also used on the right flank and occasionally as a central midfielder.

When playing as a CM, he tends to drift to the left to combine with the winger and full-back, creating overloads.

His statistical profile is a comparison with other U-23 wingers and midfielders from the top five European leagues who got at least 600 minutes on the pitch.

This also includes any playing time in European competitions.

While the 1.HNL is a lower-quality league than these competitions, this is still a decent starting point to understand his strengths, weaknesses and traits.

This visual, based on data, shows us that he is a player with good all-around ability, especially in the attacking phase.

He averaged 2 shots per 90 minutes and 2.93 touches in the box per 90 minutes last season, which led to a relatively high xG of 0.26 per 90 minutes.

Ivanušec’s ability to create space to shoot in the penalty area is one of the biggest reasons for this.

He is also excellent at ball progression, carrying the ball with an average of 3.54 progressive runs per 90, attempting 5.79 dribbles per 90, and achieving a 55.64% success rate last season.

Through all the passing metrics in the visual, we can see that he can create opportunities for his teammates as well, which rounds out his attacking skillset quite well.

After a brief overview of his profile and an examination of his qualities from a data perspective, we will provide a detailed analysis of his playing style and strengths in the following sections.

Luka Ivanušec Attacking phase – on and off the ball

In this section, we will see how Ivanušec looks when his team is in possession.

Ivanušec has a low centre of gravity, he is strong and shows good balance while running at full pace.

In the previous frame, we can see Ivanušec making a run with the ball from the touchline towards the central area of the pitch.

Multiple opposition players surrounded him, but his tight ball control and agility helped him to keep the ball.

Even though he is directed towards the central area he made a quick change of direction to get on his right foot.

Given that he is a very good dribbler, it is challenging to predict his next move when he is running at defenders with pace.

The following example illustrates Ivanušec’s spatial awareness and ability to play one-twos. 

We can see how Ivanušec makes a pass down the line and moves around the opponent, making himself available to receive the ball instantly and progress further.

He likes to have the ball at his feet, but he has the ability to recognise situations where he should play with fewer touche,s and it helps him get closer to the goal without too much time on the ball.

This situation perfectly shows that when he receives the ball back from his teammate, he will go directly at the opponents’ defence.

Ivanušec demonstrates good finishing skills and is capable of scoring goals from inside the penalty area.

What is impressive about him is that he can control the ball and maintain composure in tight areas, creating space to shoot on goal.

In this frame, he faces pressure from behind and has two defenders in front of him who are trying to block his shot.

Ivanušec manages to move defenders enough to create space between them, which enables him to score a goal.

It is very hard to dispossess him in those situations due to his agility and ball control, and defenders going in aggressively could end up with a penalty since he can beat them in tight 1v1 situations.

In this situation, we can see Ivanušec’s movement off the ball to receive possession in the left half-space.

His smart off the ball movement to receive the ball in dangerous areas and turn quickly towards the goal is one of his biggest qualities.

This is the area where he usually operates when playing as a central midfielder, trying to make overloads on the left flank.

We can see how he has a lot of space around him to receive the ball from the winger and turn towards the goal under no pressure.

Luka Ivanušec Transition 

When we talk about transition,s Ivanušec is at a very high level in both offensive and defensive transitions.

The first example in this section is about Ivanušec in offensive transitions.

Dinamo started a counter-attack on the left side with Mislav Oršić progressing with the ball towards the goal.

Ivanušec reacted quickly to join the attack with a forward run and created an overload in the final third.

His run spread the two defenders, and because of his run, Oršić had more time and space with the ball.

In the end, Oršić decided to pass the ball to Ivanušec.

He often makes these kinds of forward runs, which make him very useful in attacking transitions.

Playing for Lokomotiva Zagreb before joining Dinamo helped him a lot in developing his counter-attacking football skills, as Lokomotiva was a very transition-based side.

In the following two images, we can see Ivanušec’s reactions in defensive transitions and his counter-pressing.

In the first frame, we can see that Ivanušec is anticipating the pass from his teammate, but it ends with an unsuccessful dribbling attempt.

In the second frame, we can see how he instantly accelerates to press the opponent, preventing him from progressing forward quickly.

His ability to react quickly to a change of possession is something that every coach desires from his players.

Considering his reading of the game and quick reactions, it is easy to conclude that he would not have a problem adjusting to the tempo in top European leagues.

Luka Ivanušec Weaknesses

It is very hard to find weaknesses in his game, but if we had to highlight areas to improve, it is his aerial ability, along with his tendency to rush forward, which can leave the team a little vulnerable to counter-attacks at times.

Of course, it is difficult for him to compete in the air with his small frame, so we can label it as a weakness that is unlikely to improve.

What is meant when discussing his tendency to rush forward is that he tends to look for advanced and risky options, and sometimes forces a move forward when a safer pass would be better retained.

His ability to progress with the ball is a quality, but he should sometimes make better judgments about when to go forward and when to pass laterally or backwards.

Conclusion

This analysis provided us with information on Ivanušec’s abilities and the value he could bring to top clubs, given his versatility in playing multiple positions at a very high level.

His performances in the Europa League matches against Villarreal and Tottenham Hotspur suggest that he can match EPL and LaLiga stars equally.

His agility and mobility enable him to react quickly in transitions, indicating that he can play in better leagues where the tempo is faster.

This breakthrough season is a good indicator of his work rate and determination to develop and reach his potential.

It will be interesting to see if and when he manages to get a move to a bigger league.