Mateo Kovacic would be a definite improvement on Moussa Sissoko if he makes £50m move to Tottenham from Real Madrid
Real Madrid midfielder Mateo Kovacic could land on his feet in North London
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REAL MADRID have done well from in recent times, signing and Luka Modric, but Spurs could be about to profit with the signing of Real midfielder .
The 23-year-old Croatian has been offered to the north Londoners as Los Blancos attempt to raise the funds to make a world-record bid for Monaco superstar .
But who is Kovacic? Our friends at profile the midfielder.
Who is Mateo Kovacic and where does he come from?
Born in Linz, Austria, to Bosnian-Croatian parents, Kovacic played for local side LASK Linz from a young age.
At 13 he was attracting attention from across Europe with Ajax, Inter Milan and Bayern Munich all keen on the teenage midfielder.
Instead, he moved to Croatia to join Dinamo Zagreb. But his big break became a quite literal break when he fractured his leg in 2009, missing much of the under-17 season.
Kovacic returned in May 2010 and moved up to train with the first team. Again he caught the eye with Arsenal’s chief scout, Steve Rowley, reportedly watching him in two under-17 fixtures.
Having bided his time, Kovacic’s moment arrived in November 2010, making his debut away to Hrvatski Dragovoljac. He marked the occasion by scoring Zagreb’s fourth in a 6-0 win to become the youngster scorer in Prva NHL history.
The following season Kovacic established himself as a key component in Zagreb’s midfield and made his Champions League debut against Real Madrid, aged just 17.
He scored his first Champions League goal against Lyon, becoming the second-youngest scorer in the competition’s history.
In December 2011 his status as one of the hottest young talents in Europe was secured when Kovacic was named ‘Croatian Football Hope of the Year’.
Kovacic’s star continued to rise and he was shortlisted for the the European Golden Boy award in October 2012. Rumours persisted that he would leave Croatia but Dinamo were steadfast in their belief he would remain.
However, on January 30, 2012 he joined Inter Milan for an initial €11m with a further €4 in bonuses if the Nerazzurri reached the Champions League.
Three days after moving to Italy, Kovacic made his debut and quickly cemented a place in Andrea Stramaccioni’s starting XI.
He gave Spurs a good look at what he could do in Europa League, starring as Inter overcame a 3-0 deficit to win 4-1 in the second leg at the San Siro. He ended the season as ‘Revelation of the Year’, an award voted for by the club’s supporters.
However, while Kovacic continued to impress Inter toiled on and off the field. With the club failing to meet Financial Fair Play regulations, the Nerazzurri were forced to sell their prize asset to Real for €29m in August 2015.
Then head coach Roberto Mancini said at the time: "There are rules that have to be respected. I don't think anyone wanted this to happen but we have the Financial Fair Play regulations to follow.
“We're all sorry about it: myself, the president, the management and the players themselves."
However, with Casemiro, Toni Kroos and fellow Croat Luka Modric ahead of him at the Bernabeu, Kovacic has found first-team action hard to come by.
He made just eight La Liga starts in his first season in Spain and followed that up with 19 last term as Real did the double by clinching the Champions League and league title.
And the signing of Real Betis midfielder Dani Ceballos, expected to be completed in the coming days, will not help his cause either.
How much will he cost?
In an inflated market Kovacic could cost anything up to £50m – a fee which would make him Tottenham’s record signing.
Whether notoriously tough negotiator Daniel Levy would be prepared to pay anything near that for the Croatian remains to be seen.
Where his most likely destination this summer?
With Spurs the club Real have targeted to offload Kovacic to the north Londoners are the frontrunners.
Whether Spurs sign Kovacic or not looks to hinge on whether they can move on £30m flop Moussa Sissoko or not.
The Frenchman is surplus to requirements after a disastrous season at White Hart Lane following his club-record move.
