Liverpool have been persistently linked with Inter Milan and Croatia midfielder Mateo Kovacic and these reports refuse to die down.
With Steven Gerrard’s departure and last season’s underwhelming performance, Liverpool naturally want to address the issues that caused them problems which include the midfield department.
Brendan Rodgers has identified Inter’s Mateo Kovacic as the player who could add something to the midfield and help reduce Steven Gerrard’s void.
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Liverpool initially made a cheeky bid of a 10m to the Serie A club but that was presumed to be done to test the waters regarding the club’s stance on the Croat. The Reds then reportedly returned with a a 18m bid. That was also rejected by Mancini and co.
Inter Milan signed the midfielder for a 16m so naturally, they are holding out for more money and want to make a profit on the talented Croatian. It has been reported that they will accept a bid near the a 25m (A?18m) mark.
Gazzetta dello Sport have now stated that even though Liverpool haven’t returned with another bid for the Croatia international, they are expected to make another move for the player “within days, if not hours”. The report says that the Reds were waiting to settle on the future of Brendan Rodgers and now that the owners have backed the Northern Irishman, they are expected to make a bid for the player. It also goes on to say that Brendan Rodgers is “in love” with the player and sees himself as the heir to Steven Gerrard.
Even though some English outlets have claimed that the interest in the 21 year-old has died down, reports in Italy suggest otherwise.
It is understood that Inter are keen on including a player in a deal for Kovacic. The Italian side has been linked with Martin Skrtel, Lucas Leiva and Fabio Borini so it wouldn’t be surprising to see any of the three in a deal for Kovacic.
Kovacic has been considered as one of the brightest players in European football and has been linked with a move to Barcelona time and again. He was considered the future of Inter, but in the second part of last season, he fell a little out of favor with Roberto Mancini and found himself among the substitutes a lot of times.
Inter want funds for their own signings as they hope they find themselves in the top 3 or 4 next season. Mancinia s reported targets include Manchester Citya s Yaya Toure, Liverpoola s Lucas, Borini and Skrtel, Bayern Municha s Mehdi Benatia. Manchester United goalkeeper Victor Valdes has also been identified as the man to replace Samir Handanovic.
We see in the above comparison how Kovacic has outdone Henderson in every department, except for assists which could be pointed to the significant difference in total time played in the league. Kovacic would be a welcome addition to the Liverpool squad and for Rodgers, who needs to right the wrongs of the recently concluded season. Rodgers’s backing by the owners reportedly has an ultimatum of Liverpool qualifying for Champions League at the end of the season, failure of which would result in him being sacked. Rodgers therefore needs new and quality recruits to compete with the other top clubs next season.