His fitness and stamina will be transformed in 6 months.
Mateo Kovacic
- Thread starter VancouverUtdFan
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Been granted permission to talk to them according to Ornstein. No fee discussed between clubs yet
Him and RLC out the door so far it seems, then
Him and RLC out the door so far it seems, then
good luck Kalvin
Talk of the ideal replacement for Ilkay Gundogan
This.
It was the same with Gundogan - if I remember correctly when City signed him he was just coming off the back of a serious back injury.
PED Guardiola knows what he’s doing. There’s a reason he fell out with the medical staff at Bayern.
He is a good dribbler. Press resistant and can advance the ball. Pretty sure a mid of KDB-Rodri-Kovacic will work very well.
How the hell did we let City get ahead of us on this one? Most of the Caf wanted him for 6 months atleast.
Isn't that how we have been doing business for last 10 years.
Cheats or not but hats of to their recruitment/Planning. Going for the treble (Hopefully we ruin that on Saturday) and already planning ahead for next season. Don't mess about.
Smart decision by City. I'd have him in a heartbeat.
This is why they are where they are. Money or no money you can't deny they have a clear plan and no panic.
And they always get their business done early and rarely in long drawn out sagas. Polar opposite from united TW
He's not the type of player to create chances in the same way Eriksen does, so it wouldn't be a like for like replacement.
I don't have much interest in how he'll fit into City's midfield. Last time I watched them Stones was playing in midfield so I'm sure Pep will have some new radical formula up his sleeve for next season.
Wouldn’t mind him here. Certainly better than Mount. Good signing for City.
Should have done a double deal when we got Jorginho... Would be cheap enough and a great replacement if he can stay fit.
Can only imagine that ETH didn’t see Kovacivic as fitting into his ideal midfield system as surely if Kovacivic did ETH would have wanted him seeing as Kovacivic would probably cost less than Mount and easier to sign.
Haven’t we seen a few Chelsea fans on here say Kovacivic has been hit and miss this season ? Take it from City being in for him that Gundogan is definitely off in the summer, personally think Gundogan is a better player than Kovacivic though.
Haven’t we seen a few Chelsea fans on here say Kovacivic has been hit and miss this season ? Take it from City being in for him that Gundogan is definitely off in the summer, personally think Gundogan is a better player than Kovacivic though.
Agree
I said last summer that we should have made a cheeky move for him when they got Enzo. He was a good alternative to FDJ. Not sure what's happened this season though. One of those where if we signed him he'd be past it and injury prone, but he'll probably be class for City. As mad at that sounds.
Multiple people in this thread saying to avoid Kovacic before and now he’s going to City the tunes change 
Make no mistake Kovacic would be a massive upgrade for us but just him in a long list of players that people on here think we are too good for only for some other big club to snap them up
It’s a smart signing from City unfortunately
Make no mistake Kovacic would be a massive upgrade for us but just him in a long list of players that people on here think we are too good for only for some other big club to snap them up
It’s a smart signing from City unfortunately
Every squad has different needsMultiple people in this thread saying to avoid Kovacic before and now he’s going to City the tunes change
Make no mistake Kovacic would be a massive upgrade for us but just him in a long list of players that people on here think we are too good for only for some other big club to snap them up
It’s a smart signing from City unfortunately
I wish we were in for Kovacic - he would be a great signing for us.
Very strange turn of events. Just look at the previous pages and you'd see "he's too old", "he had a poor season"
Yeah it's a shame
Smart signing by City. He fits them, and with their consistency, the 2-3 years he’ll give them works. But it’s too short term of a signing for United at this point. We’ve had so much turnover and lack of consistency in our squad and all data points indicate that the most successful clubs have the lowest rates of player turnover. We really need to I vest in players of the right ability and age profile. So we can have a foundation we can build a proper 5 year cycle around. Out of him and Mount, I am very happy we are going for Mount. I think he ticks all the boxes. Covers two positions, Ten Hag wants him, is press resistant, creative, has a good engine, is 24, and is homegrown. That last part alone gives us more squadbuilding flexibility, to have another HG player who is a starter and high quality. It means less fluff in your squad just to meet the quota.
Soon to be 30 and in 2, 3 years, if not sooner, his legs will be gone, not to mention no resale value, best to avoid.
I don't think he'd be good for United, but he'll do well at City. He'd have to cover too much space here as we're not a possession team and he's not dynamic or athletic enough. At city he'll fit into their suffocating passing machine style quite well though as he's excellent on the ball.Multiple people in this thread saying to avoid Kovacic before and now he’s going to City the tunes change
Make no mistake Kovacic would be a massive upgrade for us but just him in a long list of players that people on here think we are too good for only for some other big club to snap them up
It’s a smart signing from City unfortunately
this is so typical for this cafe. First they want players who have similar traits to Frenkie, then saying we should avoid Kovacic because "he is 30 soon and his legs will gone". And now they think we missed a great opportunity because he will join City. I think he will do really well there.
He would be a decent signing for us but he'll be amazing for City once the 'magic of playing for Pep' has him running around like he's 20 years old again.
Mason Mount is not a real #8 like say Kovacic is.
He is more of a #8/#10 hybrid, like a Van de Beek/De Bruyne type.
He is a final third player, and we need a progressive player that will help in our build up play. Completely wrong profile imo. Wish we went for Kovacic.
He is more of a #8/#10 hybrid, like a Van de Beek/De Bruyne type.
He is a final third player, and we need a progressive player that will help in our build up play. Completely wrong profile imo. Wish we went for Kovacic.
I had hoped Bayern would go for him.
But they seem to have realized, that Kimmich needs defensive support in midfield so their focus seems to be on a 6 now. Which makes more sense.
Kovacic is a baller though and makes sense for City as a Gündoghan replacement.
But they seem to have realized, that Kimmich needs defensive support in midfield so their focus seems to be on a 6 now. Which makes more sense.
Kovacic is a baller though and makes sense for City as a Gündoghan replacement.
He's going to City though. It seems unlikely he would have chosen United at this moment in time.
Good signing for City is this and nothing more, I think we should even be happy that City didn't go for a world class addition such as De Jong or Kimmich and choose him.
I think Kovacic is nothing special and although Pep will raise his level, it is clear to everyone that he is a replacement for Gundogan who won the title for City in the 2021/22 season and is their captain, it will be very difficult to step into his shoes.
The pressure on him won't be small.
After all, City have a very good starting line-up and even if it doesn't do well there, Guardiola won't care and will go for somebody else after 6 months.
I think Kovacic is nothing special and although Pep will raise his level, it is clear to everyone that he is a replacement for Gundogan who won the title for City in the 2021/22 season and is their captain, it will be very difficult to step into his shoes.
The pressure on him won't be small.
After all, City have a very good starting line-up and even if it doesn't do well there, Guardiola won't care and will go for somebody else after 6 months.
There are some mad takes on here, you just have to look at the opinion changes of Casemiro throughout the season.
Constantly going from Real Madrid have had our pants down and he’s finished at this level to he’s our player of the season and then back again as soon as he has a couple of poor games.
When he does well for CIty, you will have people here who did not want him saying City cheats, they have 22 world-class players etc.
That being said, ETH seems to want a different profile of player. That's all that matters here.
City are in a position where they don't have to build anything. Just replace clog for clog. That's very easy to do, unlike us that have to build. City have done the hard work. There is no point in comparing the two clubs.
That being said, ETH seems to want a different profile of player. That's all that matters here.
City are in a position where they don't have to build anything. Just replace clog for clog. That's very easy to do, unlike us that have to build. City have done the hard work. There is no point in comparing the two clubs.
Bernardo Silva, Kovacic and Foden - they've basically boarded the 3 most press resistant dribblers in the league. I think he'll be an upgrade on Gundogan personally.
He will be a good squad option for City.
I wouldn't say he's the ideal Gundogan replacement. Kovacic is an elite dribbler and is incredibly press resistant but little to no goal threat and not as good a passer as Gundogan. I'm pretty sure he would be a good player for City but he's not really a patch on the qualities Gundogan brought to the table.
Crazy talk. For me Gundogan has been City's most influential player of the last 4-5 years. Played CM, AM, false 9 and done inconceivably well at everything.