Real Madrid are likely to lose the services of Croatian midfielder Mateo Kovacic as his latest talks with the new manager, Julen Lopetegui, has reportedly reached to no fruitful end. Kovacic had earlier declared his desire to leave Real Madrid due to a lack of game time and his revelation would have put a lot of clubs on high alert.
One of the clubs who are being linked with him is Manchester United as they are in need of a commanding and creative midfielder. Last month Kovacic had commented,”I love football and I love being on the pitch, so I want the opportunity to be a starter. I want to play more and it’s better for me to leave Real Madrid. I’m not happy when I’m not playing.”
United have been linked with Serbian midfielder Sergej Milinkovic Savic whose market price is currently going through the roof and Kovacic could be a cheaper and smarter alternative for Jose Mourinho. It is believed that the player has a release clause of £44m. Julen Lopetegui was said to have a talk with the 24-year-old midfielder but it seems like the Croatian has made his mind up.
Kovacic even found it hard to break into his national side for the 2018 World Cup and he puts it down to a lack of game time at the club level. The midfielder was brought in from Inter Milan for £25m and has won the Champions League in all of his seasons at the Spanish capital.
Kovacic managed 21 appearances in the La Liga and quite a few of those were from the bench as he was competing for a place with the likes of Casemiro, Toni Kroos and his countryman, Luka Modric.
United should certainly keep a track on him as he has all the potential to be a talismanic figure in midfield. Mourinho has failed to get the best out of Paul Pogba and Nemanja Matic isn’t getting any younger. Kovacic has decent pace and dribbling skills. He has the ability to pick out an ‘eye of the needle’ pass and will be a crucial player in a situation where the opposing defence is sitting back. He is a central midfielder but is suited to play in a more advanced attacking role.
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His close control in tight spaces is also quite handy and he can definitely form a formidable partnership with the likes of Pogba and Matic. Given the current market condition, his release clause doesn’t seem too high and the Red Devils should definitely go all in for him as they look for a midfield enforcer.
