Nikola Kalinić

Later that day, the player's agent confirmed Kalinić had been at Blackburn's ground talking to the club on the 30th and 31st with regard to the deal to take the player to Ewood Park.

The player's agent also confirmed that the fee was €7 million should the deal be completed; the contract had been agreed and his client was due to sign for the club.

The player also made light that the Lancashire-based club expected "big things" from the highly rated Croat.

Kalinić scored his first Premier League goal against Wigan Athletic with a header from a resultant corner taken by Morten Gamst Pedersen in the 76th minute of a 2–1 victory.

Nikola Kalinić ( born 5 January 1988) is a Croatian professional footballer who plays as a striker for Croatian Football League club Hajduk Split.

He made his Prva HNL debut in the 2005–06 season at age 17.

On 1 August 2006, he was sent on loan to Pula Staro Češko to receive more first-team action.

In his loan time at Pula, he had a slow but fair start considering his young age.

Despite not playing all too regularly in a short single season with them, he still managed to adapt and find goalscoring form, scoring 3 goals in 12 league appearances.

Kalinić's first goals in the Prva HNL came in the 2–0 victory against Kamen Ingrad on 23 September 2006 as he scored a brace to give his side the victory.

Upon ending his short time at Pula, manager Krunoslav Jurčić was largely impressed with him, stating he could become the next Zlatan Ibrahimović.

Despite his intentions to stay at Pula, Kalinić returned to Hajduk and was immediately sent out on loan to Šibenik, where he saw occasional first team action and immediately impressed with all-round performances and a goal-scoring ability, scoring three goals in eight appearances.

After clearly showing the ability to adapt well to the Croatian league, Kalinić returned to Hajduk and immediately saw plenty of first team action.

He made his returning debut against Cibalia as a substitute, then secured his first start in the squad during the 2–1 victory against Osijek at the Poljud Stadium.

His 17 league goals in his first season with Hajduk was only beaten by league topscorer Želimir Terkeš, who scored 21 goals.

However, it was a great achievement for the youngster, who had initially set a target of scoring 15 goals.

He finished the 2007–08 season in fifth place with Hajduk in the league, also helping them reach the final of the Croatian Cup in the same season.

In all competitions, he ended the year with 26 goals, receiving the coveted Swan d'or Award from the Croatian Press Association.

Kalinić made his debut for Croatia in 2008 and represented the nation at three UEFA European Championships.

Kalinić began the next season by scoring the second goal in Hajduk's 0–4 away victory against Maltese side Birkirara, thus advancing them to the next round of qualification for the 2008–09 UEFA Cup.

In Hajduk's derby match over league rivals Dinamo Zagreb, Kalinić scored the first goal with a penalty kick.

Hajduk went on to win the match 2–0 and overtake Dinamo in the league table.

Kalinić began his career with Hajduk Split in his native Croatia before moving to English club Blackburn Rovers for £6 million in 2009.

Kalinić went for a one-week trial at English club Portsmouth in late July 2009, whereupon a fee thought to be in the region of £6 million was agreed between Hajduk and Portsmouth.

However, the move fell through due to financial reasons.

On 31 July 2009, Kalinić was heavily linked with another Premier League club, Blackburn Rovers.

On 1 August 2009, the move stepped closer when Hajduk club president Mate Peroš confirmed Blackburn had an offer accepted by the club, the best from any club.

He also said, "Very quickly we finished the talks with the club [Blackburn]."

On 3 August 2009, Kalinić signed for Blackburn Rovers on a four-year deal.

The transfer fee is believed to be in the region of £6 million.

One week later, Kalinić was successfully awarded a work permit and officially signed for the club.

However, his debut was delayed as he had to return from his homeland to collect his permit, meaning he was not officially registered in time for Rovers' opening match of the season, against Manchester City.

On 13 August, he was officially confirmed as a Blackburn player and was assigned the number 22 jersey for the 2009–10 season, making his debut against Sunderland nine days later.

On 27 October, Kalinić scored his first goal for Blackburn against Peterborough United in the League Cup.

He scored his second goal in the quarter-final of the competition against Chelsea, but missed a penalty in the shootout which Blackburn went on to win regardless.

His good cup form continued in January, scoring three goals against Aston Villa - one in the FA Cup and then the two opening goals in the second leg of the League Cup semi-final, which ended 6-4 to Villa.

After scoring rarely in two Premier League seasons, he left for Ukrainian side Dnipro, helping them reach the 2015 UEFA Europa League Final.

He then played in Serie A for Fiorentina and AC Milan, before signing for Spanish club Atletico Madrid ahead of the 2018–19 season, winning the 2018 UEFA Super Cup.

He was part of their side that came runners-up at the 2018 FIFA World Cup but was sent home after one game.

Born in Split, Kalinić began his playing career at Hajduk Split.