49 minutes ago, mwblue10 said:

Our only option is to purchase him right?  We could not extend the loan?

If we could extend the loan, I'd be all for that.  Gives us cover for the transfer ban season and doesn't lock us into a bad deal.

From what I've read, we have the option to either extend the loan or buy outright.  

The absolute antehesiis of everything Lampard was about as a midfielder!  Not a snowball in hell's chance of Frank giving a space in the team to a player like Kovacic.

I've got no idea whether or not a loan extension is possible, but either way, keeping Kovacic on the books may not be such a bad idea after all.

For one thing, there are any number of foreign imports who have taken time to adjust to the Premier League, and so with a first season in English football under his belt, Kovacic could well show dramatic improvements.

The other major factor is of course the transfer ban. There is money available of that I am certain, but without the possibility of bringing in anyone new, forgetting for the moment, youngsters and returning loan players, in Kovacic we have a 25 year old Croatian international with his first season at the club behind him. 

Of course, you could simply dismiss the above as a Beggars Can't Be Choosers type argument,  which would be fair enough, but on the other hand, nothing ventured nothing gained, so why not?

Last but by no means least, we have a new manager coming in, odds on Frank Lampard, but whoever he may be, I wouldn't be at all surprised if an end to the turgid dross served up under Sarri brought about a corresponding improvement in several members of the current squad, including Kovacic.

Now I've made a case for keeping him on, you can get your bottom dollar that he'll be back at the Bernabeu by the end of July!

 

 

Hasn't scored a goal for 3 years, so it's nothing whatsoever to do with Sarri's tactics! In the same posistion and in less time on the pitch, RLC scored and created goals, which further underlines just how woeful Kovacic was. 

10 hours ago, Dixons said:

Hasn't scored a goal for 3 years, so it's nothing whatsoever to do with Sarri's tactics! In the same posistion and in less time on the pitch, RLC scored and created goals, which further underlines just how woeful Kovacic was. 

I cant be arsed to find them but I would be interested to see how many shots he has had in that time though, he does seem to be a bit gun shy when it comes to having a pop... maybe just maybe SFL could help him? 

Kovacic doesn’t score but he makes the midfield tick. Great at tight control, short passing, playing under pressure. 

56 minutes ago, Bonzodog29 said:

I cant be arsed to find them but I would be interested to see how many shots he has had in that time though, he does seem to be a bit gun shy when it comes to having a pop... maybe just maybe SFL could help him? 

You could be right, the Scottish Football League may well be his level

14 minutes ago, loz said:

You could be right, the Scottish Football League may well be his level

Jesus, is he really THAT bad?!!

Will happily take him on loan, or sign him permanently at £35m. Anything over and we should pass on him; apparently Madrid want £50m, and I can’t  see Inter paying the asking fee for him. Madrid are also trying to get rid of Ceballos,  who I rate higher but shame we have a ban in place.

Problem with him is ideally he will be a backup for Kante & Jorginho, and I do think £50m is a steep price to pay for a backup. At that amount & the fat wages that come with, we will be stuck unable to upgrade that role in the summer. Even at £35m with good scouting we will probably find gems next summer around Europe.

Real Madrid are absolutely desperate to sell players now, so it's a buyer's market for sure ...

I don't see anybody paying anywhere near 45-50M for Kovacic and Madrid don't want or need him.  He's a nice enough player, not good enough to start for a team competing for titles. I'd be happy to have him for depth, playing 5 PL games a year and a bunch of cup games.  If his price drops below 30M, we should be interested.  More than that, hard pass.

6 hours ago, ozboy said:

Kovacic doesn’t score but he makes the midfield tick. Great at tight control, short passing, playing under pressure. 

Seems Sarri had his priorities wrong then. How many CMs do you need to make your midfield tick? 

We should stay well away from Kovacic  he brings nothing to the team. How he got in front of RLC I don't know.

1 minute ago, aliboy66 said:

We should stay well away from Kovacic  he brings nothing to the team. How he got in front of RLC I don't know.

Injuries

10 hours ago, mwblue10 said:

Injuries

Plus there is the tag of "being a Real Madrid" player... gives a lot of average players that come through their system a lot more credit as you expect them to come good.

 

 

Definitely handy to have him around. He can improve, and with the transfer ban I think it’d be silly to turn him down.

I agree 50m is way too steep for him, but it’s not like we need to save money for next year. 130m from Hazard, Champions league money pot, premier league pot, we’d still have a war chest for next year.

I don’t want to see him starting ahead of RLC but it would be interesting to see what Lampard decides to do with him

47 minutes ago, dansubrosa said:

Definitely handy to have him around. He can improve, and with the transfer ban I think it’d be silly to turn him down.

I agree 50m is way too steep for him, but it’s not like we need to save money for next year. 130m from Hazard, Champions league money pot, premier league pot, we’d still have a war chest for next year.

I don’t want to see him starting ahead of RLC but it would be interesting to see what Lampard decides to do with him

Can he really improve though? He has been around since 2011/2012, and you would think any improvement at this point will be marginal. My main concern is fingers crossed we haven’t stuck him on huge wages like Drinkwater/Bakayoko & can’t move him along if we need to make improvements next summer.

Edited June 26, 20197 yr by ducavis

Good move. I think he'll form the midfield base with Kante this season.

It's down to the next man in charge, but for £35m, it would be a yes from me.

Should be looking to shift Bakayoko and Drinkwater out the door if it happens though.

 

I'm convinced Sarri didn't know how to unlock his secret level.

 

Edited June 26, 20197 yr by Le Fantôme Noir

9 minutes ago, Sindre said:

Good move. I think he'll form the midfield base with Kante this season.

Agreed, if we are going to play 4-2-3-1, then I like Kovacic next to Kante as the base 2.  Rotate Jorginho in there, and at the very least, we are able to give Kante a bit of rest from time to time - Jorginho next to Kovacic would not be bad at all, when Kante is rested.

9 minutes ago, Sindre said:

Good move. I think he'll form the midfield base with Kante this season.

Agreed, if we are going to play 4-2-3-1, then I like Kovacic next to Kante as the base 2.  Rotate Jorginho in there, and at the very least, we are able to give Kante a bit of rest from time to time - Jorginho next to Kovacic would not be bad at all, when Kante is rested.

If we want to transitions into a front football/footballing side then players like Kovacic at a relitevely decent price in our current situation is a must.

Refusing to sign him then giving his place to Baka would be beyond depressing and he has plenty of scope for improvement.

He wasnt great this season, but i would definitely have him in the side ahead of Bakayoko, drinkwater, and barkley. 

We will probably end up paying €50m which is steep, but we need all the help we can get next season, he is a classy player, who seems quite versatile. 

I would obviously prefer is to be signing Ndombele, but with the ban, i think it would be a good move us, all things considered.