Yep, he just scored for Spain yesterday and has played well, it looks like he has Luis Enrique’s full confidence and is going to be a starter in that team.
He's been pretty good lately and deserves to play more. We have a great midfielder in him, hopefully he can keep progressing and live up to his potential.
What he said about Lopetegui blocking himself off and things not working anymore after that is very telling and actually helps us understand what happened a bit.
People were laughing at him when he played for betis and said "when I close my eyes, I hear the CL anthem", but if he'd retire tomorrow it would be with a winners medal on his resume. He can become a leader.
Glad to see he's taking advantage of his opportunity. I always wanted him here from the time we were originally rumored to be interested. He's got a lot of polishing off the edges to do but the potential is there with this kid.
He is a skillful player who busts his ass, and brings passion to his play. As long as he keeps mixing it up and shooting to keep defenders honest I'm happy with his play.
He's gonna make the Kovacic situation even harder for us. I've talked to some Chelsea fans and they are not very happy with Kova. They think he plays it way too safe for his position (i don't agree with that) and that he's way too soft for a midfielder. I don't think they will want to buy him in the end and at this point if we were forced to choose between them i'd rather keep Ceballos.
Ceballos > Kova Kova loses the ball after his runs way too many time or does not make the right decisions in key situations.
It would be good to have both Ceballos and Kovacic. But for both of them, its Modric and Kroos who are still blocking the prospect for a starting spot. If they were both not here, Kovacic and Ceballos would be able to divide the time in the midfield. I honestly think we should move on from Modric and Kroos, Modric is simply getting old, and Kroos is not a hard worker, something that became even more prominent after he won three CLs in a row. He has become most complacent by the success. Both of them are remnants of an era we don't want to admit is finished by now (including Bale and Benzema). Theoretically, a midfield of Isco/Ceballos------Casemiro/Llorente------Kovacic/Valverde would be incredible even right now, let alone in the future.
It seems poor Kova played himself. Would have had a stunner of a season here, had he stayed. Lots of play time (which he kinda already had). A shame!
Or Isco, think one of him or Bale is gone this summer. Flo seems to have a permanent hard on for Bale, so not sure it’s as clean cut as some of you would like to think it is.
Kroos level has dropped considerably in the last two years. His price tag is still high, if you want to cash in, Kroos is your candidate. Modric wants to see out the remaining of his contract and off for the big payday in smaller league maybe in UEA or China. Ceballos is very similar to Kova, he just happen to have more tactical discipline. Kova is a good player, but he has the tendency to get carry away and his silliness causing problems to the backline. He is Lassana v.2, it's fun to watch them play, not a reliable long term solution.
I'm not against cashing in on Kroos. He is 29 and the moitvation seems to be little considering he's won everything. I don't see Florentino feeling though. In the end we just need to secure Eriksen. Then go from there
If one of Modric or Kroos (very unlikely) don’t leave I can’t see us making any sort of move for Eriksen. If we are going in for a CM he’s the one to focus on though no doubt.
Of course Ceballos is better at some aspects than Kovacic (such as tactical discipline) and Kovacic is better than him at others (such as tenacity and speed). Thats why it would be good to have them both. As for Modric, if I had to choose between him and Isco, I would choose Isco because he can still give us more. Its a problem to have an over the hill declining Balon Dor winner, as proven before. His name and reputation usually doesn't warrant his status in the club and that causes tension.
Losing/Selling Bale, Kovacic, Benzema, Isco, Kroos, James... that's a lot of lost quality. We shouldn't be thinking about the starting 11 only, we need to think about squad depth and overall quality. I'm not comfortable losing all those guys.
I know people are done with Kovacic but I'd like him to come back. I think he messed up going to Chelsea, and he doesn't fit Sarri ball. I'd bring him back especially if Modric decides to leave.
Perhaps a humbling experience at Chelsea will have a sobering effect for him, and he will return agreeing to be a squad player sharing minutes with the likes of Ceballos and Valverde rather than demanding a regular starting spot.