I'm not saying you'd necessarily want him deployed as your DM in a knockout tie against one of the best clubs on earth. But he can absolutely excel in that position against 95% of our opposition.
Yeah fair enough. That's not what Kovacic wants though. Apparently He actually wants to be the starter against the best teams in europe. He already has played a significant amount of time last season. He wants that starting statue.
Modric does not play as 10 for us but he is a natural 10.. that is what I meant. If we dont replace Modric with a similar player than we would be losing control in the midfield.. A guy who can only make good runs, has energy and dribble but who is lacking in other areas can only be a squad player for us.. specially if he is going to play in the midfield.
Kovacic is also a great at passing and playing the ball out of trouble. If it wasn't for Modric he would be a starter here because from Modric, Kroos and Casemiro he's the closest to Modric.
Still the same issue that he had at Inter. No one knows his ideal position. Huge potential etc but not really showing it. I'd say sell him if you can get a huge fee.
To be fair, he got injured for two months right at the start of the season. There are players ahead of him, but his role is pretty big on this team. He did play big matches with the club. I don't think his status here is what's stopping him from starting with the NT. As with any player, if a club is willing to offer a ludicrous amount for his services that will be fair in this market, than the club has to allow him to leave. But it would suck to see him go.
He started as a CAM . Just like Modric. His workcapacity is good , his dribbling is awesome , his quick turns and smart passing can cause troubles when he intercepts the ball and above all he is a joy to watch . Beautyful style he has . I really hope we will keep him.
Made no impact when Kova got subbed on during Croatia-Denmark game. Croatia's midfield was better before he came on.
Elaborate please. Did nothing and accomplished 24 passes in 60 mins. When he'd fresher legs compared to the rest. Like I said before, Croatia's midfield looked better before he came on. Nonsense claim. Guess you haven't seen my praising/defending the likes of Benzema, Modric etc.
I see no reason to explain Brozović (whom Kovacić replaced in 71') is a bang average player, so with him going out nothing of value was lost. Croatia with what's likely the best remaining CMs in the WC couldn't do much in the latter parts of the match due to tired legs, particularly the ET, bar that Modric pass/penalty, meanwhile Denmark seemed livelier and applied much more pressure in ET against the same midfield with Modric, Rakitic etc. Maybe instead of singling out Kovacić, who did some nice moves here and there and offered some verticality, you should look at the bigger picture, which is the whole Croatia team being underwhelming in general during that period, that includes Modric. You can't expect one player to change that flow by himself in such situations, and make his teammates' tired legs fresh with his magic wand.
I saw him pick up the ball and try to dribble past two players almost always losing possession, which is how he got injured. I am still not convinced he will be starting material for us in the future.
That's why he was sent in, to do exactly that and if there are no situations to force them if needed. It didn't work out but slating him because he didn't manage to dribble past 3 players from his own half and assist a goal is silly.
He is one dimensional and that is the only thing he brings to the table. I then said I am not convinced he is starting material for us. That is not slating him, its just an opinion..
The biggest question mark for me remains: what's his best position? I think he can be a similar player to Luka Modric if he manages to up his work rate. He doesn't have some of Luka's qualities but he has dribbling (best in the world honestly) and he can use that very good to escape from midfield and burst forward.
Kova is first of the bench for Casemiro, Modric and Kroos. One dimensional is one thing he isn't. He plays everywhere in midfield and I don't expect magic from him as long as he's thrown around like that. Isco was also questioned a lot until he found his place and stared playing there game after game. Kova needs direction to grow as a player and if this club can't give him that he'll try to find it elswehere. Kova is a top talent that could get into any midfield in EPL so he has the right to look elswhere for his opportunities to play every week. Real Madrid is the most demanding club in the world so there's different standards here and if it's not the right time for him then it is what it is and both player and the club have to accept that and move on.
Kovacic plays the best in a counter attacking team which relies on moving the ball quickly from defence to attack. That's his strength.
Exactly. He can run the ball forward at pace. I don’t really see the similarities with Modric except being a Croatian midfielder. He’s a Pogba. And Pogba had the same problem with figuring out his best position and now bringing out the best of him.
Box to box in a 3 man midfield with CDM and Kroos type deep lying playmaker. Zidane played used him to cover cor Casemiro but it doesn't make him a destroyer. It's just that Zidane trusted him more tjen some othee players because of wehatever reason.