Jose Mourinho’s side have lined up their next potential target in the form of midfield maestro Mateo Kovacic. The young midfielder is hinted with a switch to the English giants after he claimed he wanted a move away from the European champions. It’s sad that football needs to be played with only 11 players on the pitch. Real Madrid is a side that is filled with world-class players and highly ranked talents, which leaves no room on the team sheet for another exceptional player like Mateo Kovacic.
With Isco, Gareth Bale, Luka Modric, Casemiro, Toni Kross, Lucas Vazquez and Marco Asensio to choose from, the Madrid faithful usually forget what a wonderful player Kovacic is. The 23-year-old has traits to become one of the best midfielders in the world but does not get many opportunities to play at the home of the La Liga champions.
At just 23 years of age, Kovacic has already proved what an amazing midfield player he is, and Jose Mourinho, who can judge footballers extremely well, has seen the problems that the young star is facing.
The Portuguese boss is a huge admirer of the stellar play-maker who is also versatile enough to play on the flanks, through the centre of the midfield and as a holding or attacking midfielder. He is identified to become one of the future stars for his national side after being nicknamed the professor.
Mourinho has already spent a lot of transfer fees since taking charge of Manchester United in 2016 after breaking the then world-record fee for Paul Pogba’s arrival from Juventus and then another massive amount on the likes of Eric Bailey, Nemanja Matic, Victor Lindelof and last but definitely not the least Romelu Lukaku from Everton. And although the Red Devils are still far from 1st placed Manchester City in the Premier League, but Mourinho still believes he needs a solid creative midfielder to pair up with French midfielder Pogba in the centre of the pitch.
Kovacic himself stated that he was tempted for a move to Old Trafford last summer after failing to secure a spot in the Madrid side this season as well. Although when he did play for Madrid he was phenomenal in midfield with his passing and vision on the ball, which also goes on to prove why the La Liga winners are reluctant to let go of him either.
During his time at Dinamo Zagreb, Kovacic won two league titles before moving to Inter Milan in 2013 and then switching to Real Madrid in 2015. However, Kovacic has mainly been restricted to appearances off the bench and used only if a star Galactico is injured for the Los Blancos.
But, Zidane could possibly allow Kovacic to leave if the Spanish giants could get their prized asset David De Gea. This is an option for Madrid as they could lose a great player but gain probably the best goalkeeper in the world to solve their problems between the sticks and bring United’s shot-stopper to the Santiago Bernabeu. Will this deal happen ever- we have to wait and watch.