Barcelona are set to hold off strong competition and complete the signing of Croatian wonderkid Alen Halilovic, according to reports in Zagreb.

The 17-year-old midfielder is widely regarded as one of the hottest young talents in Europe, already appearing regularly for Dinamo Zagreb and becoming the Croatian top flight’s youngest-ever goalscorer.

He has also made three appearances for the full Croatian national team, making him the youngest player to do so, and has been tipped for a place in the senior squad for the forthcoming World Cup – where Croatia have been paired with hosts Brazil – even though he will still only be 17 when the tournament gets underway.

Halilovic’s rapid rise to fame, which included outings in the FIFA Under 17 World Cup in the UAE in October, predictably led to an intensely contested chase amongst many of the world’s leading clubs, with Real Madrid, Manchester City and Manchester United among those believed to have joined Barcelona in the hunt.

But the Catalan club have been the most determined and dogged in their pursuit, and had a bid of €3.6 million (Dh18.1m) turned down earlier this month.

Barca have now returned with another offer in the region of €5m (Dh25.2m) plus potential additional future payments, and they look set to clinch the deal before the end of the week, with Dinamo chairman Zdravko Mamic quoted in local media saying his club is “powerless” to prevent the move from going ahead.