Mateo Kovacic

Messier1994 said:
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.
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He's had 2 spells out injured this season (a knee problem at the start of the season and a calf problem in Jan/Feb). He's still played 27 games so far and Chelsea have at least 13 games left.

Last season he played in 44, season before that 42, season before that 47. He's not really injury prone at all.
 
Don't understand the injury prone comments at all. He'd be a terrific alternative to Frenkie de Jong.
 
Don't understand this "injury-prone" myth whatsoever or that time to sign him was in 2019. He's a much better and more mature player now, finally playing to his full potential and he is the closest thing to FDJ you will find in the market with the bonus fact that he has one year left on his contract.

Also, saw comments about him being subbed off often, dudes, he captained Chelsea lately, and when available he is crucial for them. One of the most underrated players in the league, I would take him here in a heartbeat.
 
Would be the best alternative to FDJ, even with different qualities.
 
aeh1991 said:
Would be the best alternative to FDJ, even with different qualities.
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Agreed. He can play the #6 role but when he plays the #8 and allow him to dictate the game is where you see the best version. He would be a very good alternative
 
Isn't he another no. 8? But I like what I saw him on last season.
 
Easily my first choice alternative for De Jong but I get the feeling he wants to stay at Chelsea or would want to go to those clubs that absolutely guarantees trophies - Bayern, Barca, Madrid, Psg
 
jamesjimmybyrondean said:
Easily my first choice alternative for De Jong but I get the feeling he wants to stay at Chelsea or would want to go to those clubs that absolutely guarantees trophies - Bayern, Barca, Madrid, Psg
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All those clubs have plenty of players in his position, some have been signed fairly recently. If he definitely wants to play, he'd probably be better off staying at Chelsea.
 
I always rate this guy. Very good midfielder. I never understand the chelsea fans that don’t even rate him, I remember one was here arguing with me that he thought our McFred is better option than their Kovacic Jorginho/Kante. :lol:

I won’t pay a lot on him though since he’s going to be 29 years old soon. Given that his contract expired in 2024, I would say 25m max or 25m plus 5m bonus.
 
bucky said:
All those clubs have plenty of players in his position, some have been signed fairly recently. If he definitely wants to play, he'd probably be better off staying at Chelsea.
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Yeah all those clubs don't really need him at this point but anything can happen. Would probably end up staying at Chelsea
 
UNITED ACADEMY said:
I always rate this guy. Very good midfielder. I never understand the chelsea fans that don’t even rate him, I remember one was here arguing with me that he thought our McFred is better option than their Kovacic Jorginho/Kante. :lol:

I won’t pay a lot on him though since he’s going to be 29 years old soon. Given that his contract expired in 2024, I would say 25m max or 25m plus 5m bonus.
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Wasnt he voted as player of the year by Chelsea fans?
 
Real Name said:
Yeah so dont know what he meant with Chelsea fans not rating him. Maybe he meant fans here, I dont know.
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‘’the chelsea fans that don’t even rate him’’

I was referring to the chelsea fans that don’t rate him, not the ones that rate him.

I’m not sure how to rephrase that sentence, I thought it was clear enough.
 
UNITED ACADEMY said:
‘’the chelsea fans that don’t even rate him’’

I was referring to the chelsea fans that don’t rate him, not the ones that rate him.

I’m not sure how to rephrase that sentence, I thought it was clear enough.
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Ah yes sorry, missed the 'that' part.
 
jamesjimmybyrondean said:
Easily my first choice alternative for De Jong but I get the feeling he wants to stay at Chelsea or would want to go to those clubs that absolutely guarantees trophies - Bayern, Barca, Madrid, Psg
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I would say the same but his injury record this year has been a concern.
 
I don’t think Kovacic is a perfect player but the things he excels at are the exact things our midfield lacks. I’d be really happy with him
 
Him and Casemiro would be a force to be reckoned with in midfield.

When you think we've had to put up with mcfred and an over the hill matic, he's a vast improvement
 
Considering the derth of quality, ball-playing midfielders we have in our 1st squad, he's a no-brainer to acquire and have in the pool of talent to rotate from.

Imagine being able to swap out Eriksen for him, or even have them operate in the same midfield ahead of Casemiro. It's an element of quality and control we still lack, to have a competent deep-playing duo behind a playmaker type would do wonders for us.

Ideally, it's him plus a bona fide level starter coming in as a duo who elevate our midfield potential by an order of magnitude.
 
Would clearly be an upgrade over Fred, McTominay and Sabitzer; probably Eriksen too in big games. It is a bit concerning how many players in their late 20s or early 30s we seem to be filling the squad with. I get that if you buy Varane and Casemiro, you need to target winning right away as we’ll only get a few years from them, but surely we need to get some fresh blood in that midfield.

On the face of it, you’d be surprised if Chelsea let him go to a rival, but that’s really the downside of their transfer policy. They have to sell anyone at risk of running down their contract now. I’m not sure exactly how much they’ve committed per season on outgoings but losing players worth £20/30 million for free would be bad for FFP.
 
He is a very good midfielder, press resistant, can recycle the ball and run with it, but he isn't creative, but he is super in ball possession and is pretty combative & mobile, I would say he would work well beside Cas, but his drawback is creativity and goal scoring.
 
Dan_F said:
Would clearly be an upgrade over Fred, McTominay and Sabitzer; probably Eriksen too in big games. It is a bit concerning how many players in their late 20s or early 30s we seem to be filling the squad with. I get that if you buy Varane and Casemiro, you need to target winning right away as we’ll only get a few years from them, but surely we need to get some fresh blood in that midfield.
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This is why for me the new owners will most likely be replacing / demoting the likes of Murtough and put more competent individuals in charge to spearhead the recruitment and have a decisive strategy over the coming seasons. It's a really poor reflection that a new manager comes in and although the likes of Kane, Kovacic etc raise the teams performance levels drastically their age profile represents a very dangerous trend of lacking any foresight to build an established team over the course of time.

I think what Madrid have done with Valverde, Camavinga and Tchouameni United need to take a page out of the same book and build for sustained success not short term fixes. In 36 months pending declines and high contract negotiations it will be hard to shift some of these players with the ridiculous strategy.
 
Why do people think this is a possibility? He’s a starter for Chelsea.
 
Vapor trail said:
This is why for me the new owners will most likely be replacing / demoting the likes of Murtough and put more competent individuals in charge to spearhead the recruitment and have a decisive strategy over the coming seasons. It's a really poor reflection that a new manager comes in and although the likes of Kane, Kovacic etc raise the teams performance levels drastically their age profile represents a very dangerous trend of lacking any foresight to build an established team over the course of time.

I think what Madrid have done with Valverde, Camavinga and Tchouameni United need to take a page out of the same book and build for sustained success not short term fixes. In 36 months pending declines and high contract negotiations it will be hard to shift some of these players with the ridiculous strategy.
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Another way to look at it, is having a very strong squad built for winning in the near future whilst buying time to purchase replacements who can then slot into a vehicle already motioning towards success and a culture of expectations and standards.

You mention Madrid, but it should be noted they are much further along the outlined model so can simply purchase the best of the best youngsters coming through, no bother at all whilst those same talents won't look in this direction until we too can offer them stability and an assured culture of winning and success.

We've got to start somewhere, but all avenues have their pros and cons; buy young, and you have to factor in growing pains, maturity and development issues as well as the current squad potentially decaying in the interim.

The lines are very fine and so are the margins for error - age profile should obviously have merit, but so too should have the right mix of experience, know how and downright, ready to go competence, which we as a squad are only now getting to grips with thanks to the acquisitions of the older heads who are steadying the ship this season.
 
Donut said:
Why do people think this is a possibility? He’s a starter for Chelsea.
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He has a year left on his contract and no sign yet of signing a new one. Plus Chelsea need to sell. Add to that a transfer story from 90min.

Whether that adds up to anything is another thing.
 
Chelsea weren't in the game at Stamford Bridge in October until he came on,however I do get what people are saying about needed to bring in younger midfielders. We don't want a scenario the scousers are facing with everyone aging at same time but need to get best out of current team.
 
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He's an excellent ball carrier. One of the best in the world. Our midfield sorely lacks that.
 
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