Mateo Kovacic

I think he'll be a big success under Lampard. Jorginho, Kante and Kovacic is potentially a top top midfield in the making. Sarri didn't seem to have a clue how to get the best out of them.
First thing Lampard will do is move Kante back to his favoured holding role, and build the midfield around that.
 
Champagne Football said:
Yeah that's incredibly hilarious. So you're 100% certain Jorginho will remain in the deep-lying playmaker role despite a poor season there? And Kante will remain box to box despite looking clueless there?
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You say that Sarri was clueless, that Lampard will know what he is doing (despite having less experience) and also claimed Kante’s best role is the holding one which is false. The only person that looks clueless is you.
 
haram said:
You say that Sarri was clueless, that Lampard will know what he is doing (despite having less experience) and also claimed Kante’s best role is the holding one which is false. The only person that looks clueless is you.
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Chelsea looked disjointed last year despite having the best player in the league and the best central midfielder in the league, and a squad on a par with Liverpool. Sarri is great but he couldn't figure out how to make his team gel. Chelsea qualifying for the Champions League ahead of Man Utd and Arsenal, was more to do with pampered spoiled brats at Utd losing focus as they flirted with other clubs.

It's a pity you're not managing Utd next season seem as you are the biggest footballing Einstein in the history of football.
 
Champagne Football said:
Chelsea looked disjointed last year despite having the best player in the league and the best central midfielder in the league, and a squad on a par with Liverpool. Sarri is great but he couldn't figure out how to make his team gel. Chelsea qualifying for the Champions League ahead of Man Utd and Arsenal, was more to do with pampered spoiled brats at Utd losing focus as they flirted with other clubs.

It's a pity you're not managing Utd next season seem as you are the biggest footballing Einstein in the history of football.
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3rd, league cup final, Europa league win, gets a move to Juventus. Clueless. Derby manager Frank Lampard will sort it out.
 
I liked Kovacic a lot, he was one of the players for who I felt more sympathy.
I was a bit disappointed when he went on loan, the coldness with Madrid, assuming he wouldn't return, as if he wanted to erase those years.
It is never positive to say of a player "he will be the new X". That happened with Modric.
It resulted in a strange situation of assured bench and a supposed growth and brilliant future.
Perhaps, watching the competition, he said that his best position was holding midfielder. In that position came his most famous match, a great mark to Messi.
After that he returned for months to disappear.
Apparently he considers that his time in the bench provoked his time in the bench during the world cup.
I do not know if he has regained his place in the team. I do not know Brozovic but he is definitely not better than Rakitic.
I wish him good luck, he looks like a great guy that is looking forward of playing and being a true part of a team
 
Jim Beam said:
Am Croat. For 6 years it looks that no one managed to get the best out of him.

Then probably something's on him too.
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True. At Inter he was great but went to Madrid too soon. Destroyed his confidence there. I have a feeling next season he might just be ready to start performing again. He showed glimpses of what he can do last season.
 
carvajal said:
I do not know if he has regained his place in the team. I do not know Brozovic but he is definitely not better than Rakitic.
I wish him good luck, he looks like a great guy that is looking forward of playing and being a true part of a team
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He didn't. Because Brozovic actually played better when he had a chance. And Brozovic engine is what finally free both Rakitic and Modric in that WC. With him playing holding role on a much greater level then Kovacic.

https://www.fedenerazzurra.net/news...orld-cup-record-in-distance-traveled-16339-km

Season 2018/19 after WC
The Inter Milan midfielder holds the record this season in the league for covering the most distance on the pitch per match. Nobody in the Serie A has run as much as Brozović, who has an average of covering 12.171 km per match.
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Champagne Football said:
True. At Inter he was great but went to Madrid too soon. Destroyed his confidence there. I have a feeling next season he might just be ready to start performing again. He showed glimpses of what he can do last season.
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Glimpses is what we all seen in these last 6 years and nothing more. I just have a feeling he will never reach his potential everyone thought he is capable when he was 17 or 18. And I was a huge fan of him.
 
Champagne Football said:
Chelsea looked disjointed last year despite having the best player in the league and the best central midfielder in the league, and a squad on a par with Liverpool. Sarri is great but he couldn't figure out how to make his team gel. Chelsea qualifying for the Champions League ahead of Man Utd and Arsenal, was more to do with pampered spoiled brats at Utd losing focus as they flirted with other clubs.

It's a pity you're not managing Utd next season seem as you are the biggest footballing Einstein in the history of football.
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Since fecking when?

Hazard and Kante would have been nailed on to start for Liverpool, but beyond that Rudiger is a maybe (not ahead of a fit Joe Gomez for me) and Kovacic/Jorginho aren't better cm's than Wijnaldum or Fabinho, not in the Premier League.

Sarri did well in the end guiding a pretty average Chelsea team to 3rd. They have a decent squad but it's absolutely nothing special and not a patch on Chelsea teams of old, a lot of mediocre/decent talents mostly being carried by arguably the best player in the league in Hazard.
 
Chelsea making this deal permanent would be like us signing Fred all over again expect it's even greater madness from them because they could have walked away whereas we're stuck with Fred

I get why Chelsea have done it but I can't believe they don't have someone in the reserves who could take Kovacic's place and not have a similar 'impact'
 
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Now that Chelsea have signed him, should this thread be closed or moved to the Football Forum?
 
Kante isn't a holding midfielder, anyone who has seen him at his best knows that, he isn't specifically a box to box midfielder either, if you want to define him he is a ball winning midfielder, just my opinion.

As for Sarri, he got a few things wrong yes, he was stubborn tactically and he tried to deploy Kante more offensively. Overall he did a good job and will do much better than Lampard. The way he is portrayed you would think he took Derby to new hights, when really he just repeated their previous seasons performance.
 
Kovacic is, what De Jong will be. Not fish nor flesh. Defensive to weak for "6", offensive to weak for a "10". Not enough range and strategic view as an "8". He can only make small transitions. Nice to watch sometimes, but not very effective.
 
@giorno and all the madrid fans. Was his close control and dribbling always this good ?
If he could just shoot at all hed be unbelievable.
 
His dribbling and technique was always his best attribute. It was his decision making that was lacking.
 
Credit to @Champagne Football , was getting mauled at the top of this page.

I actually thought Jorginho would get frozen out but credit to Lampard he's judged him on his own merits and playing better than he did at any stage last season, Kovacic aswell.
 
FootballHQ said:
Credit to @Champagne Football , was getting mauled at the top of this page.

I actually thought Jorginho would get frozen out but credit to Lampard he's judged him on his own merits and playing better than he did at any stage last season, Kovacic aswell.
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Think Kovacic looks exactly the same this season as he has since he's been at Chelsea. He's always been a good tactical player at retaining possession and moving the ball through midfield but his attacking output in goals and assists just doesn't exist. I think it would be generous to call him a big success yet.
 
Classical Mechanic said:
Think Kovacic looks exactly the same this season as he has since he's been at Chelsea. He's always been a good tactical player at retaining possession and moving the ball through midfield but his attacking output in goals and assists just doesn't exist. I think it would be generous to call him a big success yet.
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Playing a totally different role this season than under Sarri. The latter played him as the most advanced of the 3 midfielders. That's not where he's effective because he can't shoot or pick out a pinpoint final ball to save his life. Lampard has moved him back into the middle of the pitch next to Jorginho where he can pick the ball up and dribble with it to carry it forward. Much better suited there.

Kovacic and Jorginho have been absolutely brilliant this season. Consistently two of our best performers each and every game.

Going to be a serious headache for Frank when he's got Kante back fit. Loftus Cheek as well. All 3 of Jorginho, Kova, and Mount seem undroppable.
 
Orc said:
Playing a totally different role this season than under Sarri. The latter played him as the most advanced of the 3 midfielders. That's not where he's effective because he can't shoot or pick out a pinpoint final ball to save his life. Lampard has moved him back into the middle of the pitch next to Jorginho where he can pick the ball up and dribble with it to carry it forward. Much better suited there.

Kovacic and Jorginho have been absolutely brilliant this season. Consistently two of our best performers each and every game.

Going to be a serious headache for Frank when he's got Kante back fit. Loftus Cheek as well. All 3 of Jorginho, Kova, and Mount seem undroppable.
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I've watched nearly every Chelsea game this season to see how the young English lads get on and I'd say the only midfielder that's indispensable is Jorginho. I think Mount and Kova have been decent but if you start getting on the wrong side of results the knives will be out for them first.
 
Orc said:
Playing a totally different role this season than under Sarri. The latter played him as the most advanced of the 3 midfielders. That's not where he's effective because he can't shoot or pick out a pinpoint final ball to save his life. Lampard has moved him back into the middle of the pitch next to Jorginho where he can pick the ball up and dribble with it to carry it forward. Much better suited there.

Kovacic and Jorginho have been absolutely brilliant this season. Consistently two of our best performers each and every game.

Going to be a serious headache for Frank when he's got Kante back fit. Loftus Cheek as well. All 3 of Jorginho, Kova, and Mount seem undroppable.
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I love watching the Jorginho-Kovacic combo. Two midfielders with excellent ball-retention and passing, and they seem to work very well in tandem with some beautiful one-touch passing, receiving the ball with ease, driving forward, and supplying quick passes to the forwards. Chelsea this season has been very easy on the eye. I'm a big fan of both Kovacic and Jorginho.
 
Classical Mechanic said:
I've watched nearly every Chelsea game this season to see how the young English lads get on and I'd say the only midfielder that's indispensable is Jorginho. I think Mount and Kova have been decent but if you start getting on the wrong side of results the knives will be out for them first.
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I think Mount is pretty indespensible for the way Lamps plays as well. I think Kova will be the one whose place will be rotated. Mason is the midfielder who is always pressing the opposition up high and has a great eye for goal. Could've score two more today but for Foster playing a blinder. In fact, I think Mount may be our biggest goal threat after Tammy.
 
I wish United had a midfielder at the club that could be as tidy on the ball as either Kovacic or Jorginho
 
Back in June I thought Jorginho would be too soft for the PL and maybe, just maybe, Sarri would take him back with him in Italy and we recoup the money and Kovacic I did not really understand why we bought him because he did not look that special to command a transfer after the loan.

Roll forward the months and they look like they've been playing together for decades. I mean I thought Jorginho was supposed to have been the catalyst for 'Sarriball' in Napoli, but was he really? Having watched that Napoli a lot I can really say this Jorginho now is better IMHO, he gets exposed too much as an anchor man in a 4-3-3 as compared to Lampard's two man pivot.

And guess what? Kante and Loftus Cheek soon to full fitness. Good luck to Frank Lampard.
 
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Champagne Football said:
First thing Lampard will do is move Kante back to his favoured holding role, and build the midfield around that.
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Champagne Football said:
Yeah that's incredibly hilarious. So you're 100% certain Jorginho will remain in the deep-lying playmaker role despite a poor season there? And Kante will remain box to box despite looking clueless there?
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These ain't aged well!
 


Kovacic has extreme quality in many areas. But seems like he has been hurt a lot lately?
 
One of my favourite players in the PL. So underated. Has missed quite a lot of football this season though sadly.
 
The time to get him was before he went to Chelsea. Ridiculous how they were allowed to sign him despite their transfer ban.

Talented but far too injury prone now, I’d give him a miss.
 
Anyone got any insight into how injury prone he really is? Have all been different type of knocks this season, and especially early in the season, I would say that he was CFCs best player besides Reece James.

To some extent, I am fairly certain that he still could be elite for a couple of more seasons. But if that is “all”, I think we should stay away unless we are desperate (like with Eriksen).

But could there be more? He is only 28.
 
Are injuries the reason he doesn't play much for Chelsea? He almost always seems to be subbed in though.
 
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