Juventus have reportedly been offered midfidler Mateo Kovacic during their discussion with Real Madrid.
Kovacic joined Real last summer but has struggled to find a place in the starting XI, both under Rafa Benitez and Zinedine Zidane.
According to Sky Sport Italia, the young Croatian midfielder has been offered to Juventus for a figure close to €25m.
With the Bianconeri in the hunt for a creative force in midfield, Kovacic is another name on the list, alongside Miralem Pjanic and Andre Gomes.
The midfielder previously spent 3 seasons in Serie A where he scored 8 goals in 97 appearances for Inter Milan.
Remember when we could have got Verratti for 10m and didn’t go for it?… good times…
this guy for 25m ?? lolol , what makes him worth 25? his age? nah thanx real, pay us 30m for morata and f.off
Not sure if he is worth 25mill, but we can forget both Gomes and Pjanic anyway.
And we need someone to bring some creativity in our midfield.
NO!
Is the price too high or do you rate him a bad player? Or what is the reason for an outspoken no?
I really dont know Kovacic too well so I’m only based on what I read
Kovacic is a mediocre player, he is not Juve quality, he had a good stint at inter, nothing special really, just hyped up by media. If Juventus are to spend 25 Mill, they surely can get a much better player in terms of quality. In terms of creativity, Pjanic, Isco, Draxler walk all over him. He is also a bit stiff and not very versatile. Im just not a fan. Plus he played for Inter, thats an automatic turn off 😛
Well if he would turn out great, it would be even better that he was at Inter 😛
Wouldnt be the first ex Inter player/fan converted to Juve colours! Think of Bonucci and Berardi too.
I just really have no idea how talented he is
the mighty bonucci, and Pirlo at one point, and cannavaro 🙂
Exactly!
Um… I don’t entirely hate this (except the price, which I think is high). In fact, I may like him slightly better than Pjanic for us.
Assuming both are possible transfers, obviously, and not just rumors created by the media.
This is a ‘Juve’ kind of transfer – Undervalued player that no one is really looking at, more realistic than entering a bidding war for Gomes/Pjanic/Miki etc.
I wouldn’t be averse to it, given our track record of turning around former Inter players 🙂
If I remember correctly, Kovacic used to play in front of the defense (vice-Marchisio) or behind the strikers (trequartista?)….. Pjanic would be more used as vice-Khedira/Pogba, ’cause I think De Rossi always got the middle spot so he always played to the side… sooo I don’t know if Miralem has experience as vice-Marchisio. That’s only why I prefer Kovacic a bit better…. because I would rather have a great vice-Marchisio (even if it means trying Lemina somewhere else or giving him more time to develop before using him for the reallyreally important games) than to get another midfielder. We neeeeed a great vice-Marchisio!!
….. I should really learn the names of the positions in English.. I keep thinking in terms of players instead of actual positions.
I think it’s easier to refer to players positions rather than the actually names of the positions – it makes it easier to understand – You could say Marchisio is a central/defensive midfielder but that wouldn;t explain his role – When you talk about Marchisio in midfield, you get a better idea of what it is that he does.
I agree with you on this – Kovacic seems able to play across the midfield, although i read somewhere that he’s nt a fan of playing defensive midfield – Still, he can do the role, and better still, he can play behind the strikers if needed which gives us a player who can do 3 roles for the price of 1 – I’d be more than happy with that. I think Pjanic might be out of our price range if the likes of Barca and Bayern start bidding – I’d sooner get a B+ player quickly and start our summer, rather than waste it chasing after an A+ player, and only have a 50/50 chance of signing him.
Oh, yes. It’s much easier with fellow Juventini, too.. when my Madridista friend wants to talk to me about football he’s always frustrated because I often ask “oh, on the right… but is he more like Lichtsteiner or Cuadrado?”. XD
If this management has taught me anything it’s that, for the most part, and where it matters, they know what they’re doing. I’m convinced that transfers like Anelka, Bendtner… they served a purpose, probably behind the scenes… so I trust them. They’ve also shown they can spend the $$$ when needed. Dybala didn’t come cheap but they didn’t care… Pjanic costs less in theory so, if they’re thinking about it or considering other options, there must be a reason.
once again, i’m in total agreement – Anelka served a purpose for us, even if he never started a game. The management have made us competitive again by spending when needed, and when times were tight, we attracted the likesof Pogba, Evra and Coman for next to nothing. Remarkable when you consider we wasted close to 50m on Diego and Melo who never amounted to anything for us
I haven’t really seen him play, only read about him, but that was very positive. Considering we gave 20m for Morata, I don’t see the problem with the 25m either. It’s a “why not?” kind of deal to me. We do need someone creative in midfield, why not him?
Pretty much the same idea here, if management and Allegri want him, I think the price is okay.
25mill for Kovacic or 38mill for Pjanic, why not risk Kovacic then. He is younger than Pjanic and knows Serie A too. Plus we maintain our good relations with Roma by not taking Pjanic away
Exactly. On the Roma side of the deal, I don’t really care about their opinion, however it would be nice if we could draw talent into Serie A, and just leave others be.
Indeed! Not our focus, but a stronger Serie A would be good for us too. We’ll stop winning Scudetti this easily, but the League will be more attractive if the others make a jump in quality too – especially the Milano teams
Kovacic wouldn’t be the worst solution, but there are plenty of better options than him. I disagree with management if they think Pjanic isn’t worth 38M. They should’ve made more of an attempt to sign Pjanic. Relationship status with Roma isn’t our most important concern lol, and if we meet his release clause and he accepts to leave, what can they say to us?
The Pjanic move seems dead, but I hope we can sign an established world class player for once. Not one who is in their early 20s, or at the opposite spectrum in their mid 30s, or even a free transfer of a player aged 28. I will wait for the day we sign an established star for big money who will undoubtedly help the team in an area we lack.
It would be fun to have both. Can we have both? Pleeeeease
Beppe you reading this?
Anyone who knows Islam Slimani from Sporting? He is rumoured to be the replacement for Morata in the Portuguese press.
At 28 years old, I dont really get excited by this move. Never heard of him.
Since Morata is going, we need a top quality striker to replace him. I’m pretty sure Berardi was going to come in anyway, so he wouldn’t be that replacement.
If we rate Morata at 50-55M, what other strikers in world football would be worth that much and also willing to accept a relatively mediocre salary in modern top-level standards. I’m not sure there are any. Benzema possibly if he leaves. Cavani seems set to stay. But anyway these are the sort of calibre players we need to look at to replace Morata, because I don’t think Mandzukic is a great player by any means.
No disrespect to Slimani. I’ve only seen him play in the World Cup and he didn’t do enough there for me to remember much about him.
I dont see Berardi as a good player to replace Morata anyway, they are not similar. I do want Berardi though, just not in that regard 😛
Not quite sure either, I also think of those two names as best combinations of skill level and availability. Better players are too expensive, worse not good enough for us either.
I think the best option is to go for a younger, somewhat established player. Lukaku for example? Or Lacazette.
He is Algerian I think, no? As a team they did pretty good, but on an individual level nothing great
how much you think lukaku would cost? 40m? i would go for Laccazette, scored 21goals in ligue1 this season, 25yrs old, can dribble and got pace. estimated price at 30m , but would cost more, 35-37 i think, dybala laccazette berardi, oh man, what a force
40million is indeed the price I would expect for Lukaku. More would be overpriced. I am just not sure he would be a good fit at Juve.
Besides, if I think of Dybala costing that much too, I dont think Lukaku is worth that much. 30mill perhaps, but Everton wont let him go for that. And Lukaku has no special desire for Serie A football.
Lacazette or maybe Origi, I would definitely like that!
everton paid 35m for him and im sure they want to make some profit, l’pool paid over 50m for Benteke lol, but he is beast(lukaku of course) very strong with the ball on his feet, Origi? never saw him play
Pretty sure of that too xD just An awful lot of money.
Where Lukaku has strength and stamina, Origi brings speed and trickery. He plays for Liverpool and Belgium.
Hopefully you get to see him in euro16!
Really Origi? He can be very anonymous in games though. Liverpool are not always much better with him than without. I’d take Daniel Sturridge any time over him – if he was ever fit that is.
sturidge will never be fit lol, him rosicky wilshere, reus are injury kings lol
I like him when he plays for Belgium, I havent seen much from him at Liverpool.
He isnt Messi or something, I just liked him a lot at the WC
looks like he is pretty fast with damn good shot from distance
Indeed, good player with room for improvement
Sturridge is one of my Favorite strikers at the moment, but the chances of him coming to Juve are absolutely minimal. His salary is already double what Juve would realistically pay him, and his transfer fee as an Englishman will obviously be inflated.
i go to check some origi youtube stuff
My dream signing would be Lewandowski though 🙂
We can all dream man haha! He would be soooooo good though.
I honestly cant imagine a better striker for Juve. He is an elite player who combines strength with speed, has technique and a wonderful sense for goals. Besides that, no off field issues and sportive behaviour on the field.
Class man, class player. If we didnt have any gaps to close in the team, I would love to see Juve splash 60mill or more on him.
Too bad it will remain a dream 😛
60M wouldn’t even do it my friend. He is worth around 80M at least, and with reported interest from Real, that amount would increase even more.
You are probably right, but whether its 60mill, 80mill or 200mill plus an island in the Caribbean, he is too damn expensive 😛
Exactly, Berardi is not a replacement for Morata at all, but is required anyway.
If Lewandowski goes to Real, then Benzema might be willing to move, in which case we have a chance.
Lukaku has done quite well in the PL over the last 4 years, but I’m still not sure if he’s worth the money Everton want. I’ve barely seen any of Lacazette and was hoping to see more in the Euros, but I’ll see more Giroud I guess.
Yes, Slimani is Algerian.
Mandzukic is a hard worker, but if he is starting striker again next season it will be a bit of a let down. I wanted him to stay ideally and be back up to Morata and Dybala, but since Morata is leaving and I don’t think Mandzukic is going to improve, I wouldn’t mind if he left either.
We wouldnt miss Berardi, but why would we let such a talent walk? Would be madness.
He would have to take a salary cut, but perhaps he would be okay with that.
I have no idea why France selected him and Gignac. They have better options than these two. But oh well.
I would sell Mandzukic too, after waiting a season to evaluate him, I dont rate him too high. His only true value is experience, which we completely lack among our strikers without him.
For the rest, nothing Zaza cant do too. And with far more impact. Unfortunately that also counts for his discipline xD
I’m in complete agreement about Berardi, he needs to be a Juventus player next season.
Benzema or others could come in if Morata leaves, but only once we get official confirmation of his departure.
Hahaha agreed with what you’ve said about Zaza and Mandzukic.
And the season after that. And the next one. And the one after that one too. And so on for about 12 times ;P
I watched him much of this season – Take a look at the amount of late goals Slimani scored 😉 he’s a decent player, good in the air, Sporting whipped in a lot of crosses for him to convert, Nice player, but i’d rather keep Morata
Thanks Rav, I will make sure to take a look! You think there is any truth to the rumour?
i don’t think so amico – I saw him mentioned, but given the age, the fact that he’s an unknown quantity and perhaps not entirely compatible with Dybala, it might be tricky. I like him and stranger things have happened…..but Morata is also changing his tone about leaving Juve – now saying he never said he wanted to leave – I think he may even stay !
Morata is completely confusing me now mate! In that same interview he “sneered” at Allegri/Juve that the style and tactic in La Roja is much more suited to him
So, are we seeing or saying that all the big targets we wanted are slipping away from us? Seems so. But instead we can have all the ‘dregs’ that other big clubs don’t want. Hmmm, better to go with youth than expensive established high-risk mediocrity IMO. On the positive news front Drexler says he is sad his Juve move fell through! Well thanks for that nugget Julian.
haha , draxler, there you got it back shit ass, anyway it’s no news that all the big targets slippin away, we always goin after big names but end up with hernanes lol
Its a shame really. If only we would JUMP on the Pjanic opportunity.
Youth is the best option long term but I really think we need better than that next season.
Unless of course Allegri dumped the idea of a trequartista alltogether. No idea how he means to implement Berardi in the team, maybe a trequartista has no priority at all anymore.
433 dybala zaza berardi??
Possibly, which doesnt require a trequartista.
and looks pretty good for me, all 3 have pace and great shot from distance ,
I just wouldnt hope on Zaza benching MM (yet). Also not sure Dybala is equally good on the left.
Like Tevez, I think he can do ok on the left, but can be so much better in a more central position.
Just a feeling though, its completely unbased what I say
but i forgot that all 3 are left footed , hmmm