The 5 "new Modrics" of Europe: U23 Midfielders with 90%+ in passing accuracy.

Finding the next Luka Modric is no longer a mystical art reserved for scouts traveling incognito through muddy fields in Eastern Europe. In 2026, the art of scouting starts with an SQL query.

Methodology: Beyond the simple "Completed Pass"

A defensive midfielder laying the ball off to a center-back for 90 minutes will easily have a 95% passing accuracy, but will be sterile in terms of offensive play. To find a true playmaker (a "Hidden Director"), our script filtered the data applying two punitive metrics:

• xT (Expected Threat): Measures how a pass increases the probability percentage of that possession ending in a goal. We only wanted vertical passers.
• Progressive Passes: Completed passes that move the ball toward the opponent's goal by at least 10 meters (or into the penalty area).
• Accuracy Under Pressure: The percentage of successful passes (PAcc%) while an opponent is within a 2-meter radius.

The Baturina Case: Domination of the Half-Space

Baturina's passing positioning (Dinamo Zagreb) shares heat maps almost identical to the early Luka Modric: receptions predominantly in the right half-space, explosive body rotation, and line-breaking passes that send the winger or the cutting midfielder directly to goal.

The incredible piece of data (visible by extracting the full CSV) is how his accuracy paradoxically rises to 94.1% under pressure when pressed from behind.