Real Madrid have a vast talent of crop ready and in line to be plucked from their backyard as Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola looks to price the Croatian midfielder Mateo Kovacic away from the Spanish capital.
TalkSPORT reports that Real Madrid have placed a heavy price tag on their unused midfield resource as Kovacic looks at life away from the Santiago Bernabeu. The value stands at a staggering £80m but that does not seem to steer Pep away from his demands of getting the players he wants.
The talented Croatian international made the jump from Inter Milan to Real Madrid back in 2015. During the three years spent at Madrid, Kovacic made 73 La Liga appearances for Los Blancos and managed to find the back of the net only once. He has taken his tally to 109 appearances in all competitions but the influential playmaker is aware that he has a lot more to offer on the pitch and believes he is deserving of more game time.
It is a fair predicament as the 24-year-old does have immense talent in his locker but fails to be given the platform on which he can showcase his game. Despite adding major trophies to his personal cabinet every year, the midfielder does not get enough game time as he would like to be experiencing.
City are keen to add to their midfield options despite signing Riyad Mahrez from Leicester City and already possessing the likes of Ilkay Gundogan, Kevin De Bruyne, David Silva and Bernardo Silva as options for a place in the creative midfield role. With UEFA imposing their Financial Fair Play rules on every club who is in danger of a breach of these guidelines, City will be clever not to get themselves entangled in the aftermath of disobeying European Football’s governing body.
The rule states that no team has the privilege to spend more than what they earn in a year, as City turn a deaf ear and continue to walk on a tightrope in order to pursue success at any given cost. The backlash can be devastating and City could look elsewhere for the squad depth they would like to possess in their hunt for more silverware.
If City do balance their accounts and sign the player, he will without a doubt, give the Citizens an advantage over the rest of the league purely based on the quality Kovacic will offer Pep’s team at the centre of the park. Fernandinho will be the deepest lying midfielder while Kovacic plays the role of the box-to-box midfielder, as he displays both defensive and attacking prowess.
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As it stands, Manchester City look ready to blow the competition away with their spending spree and a potential move for the Croatian World Cup might be on the cards. If they can land him this summer, their opponents might be in for another season of sheer brilliance from the “Shark Team” of the last term.
