Mateo Kovačić

[Slartibartfast]

Realistically where would Ramsey go..? I struggle to come to a conclusion on who would buy him from us, what we talking 30-40mil?

Chelsea?

There's always somebody. If he decides to leave, a lot of clubs will check in on him. And you never know when one of these BS rumors may become reality.

 

[Flying Okapis]

There's always somebody. If he decides to leave, a lot of clubs will check in on him. And you never know when one of these BS rumors may become reality.

Oh I agree, I just cannot picture him at a top club and I imagine he will only leave for a Utd, City, Chelsea etc, cant see him going to Everton for example.

 

[Kakao]

Kovacic should do better in a bit of advanced midfield with Xhaka and Torreira behind him rather then Ramsey. Though this could only happen if Welshman leaves.

 

[Dokaka]

Link doesn't seem too strong but a Xhaka - Torreira - Kovacic midfield would be sick. Great mix of technical ability, defensive grit and creativity. Can't think of a better setup if you're going to play both Laca and Auba. Put Özil on the right and leave Auba to just run the channels from the left.

Hope a stronger link pops up. I like Ramsey but I'd swap Ramsey for Kovacic in a heartbeat. He's younger and much better on the ball. There's no shame in not getting enough minutes when you're behind two of the best midfielders of this generation.

 

[The_Playmaker]

Link doesn't seem too strong but a Xhaka - Torreira - Kovacic midfield would be sick. Great mix of technical ability, defensive grit and creativity. Can't think of a better setup if you're going to play both Laca and Auba. Put Özil on the right and leave Auba to just run the channels from the left.

Hope a stronger link pops up. I like Ramsey but I'd swap Ramsey for Kovacic in a heartbeat. He's younger and much better on the ball. There's no shame in not getting enough minutes when you're behind two of the best midfielders of this generation.

Absolute wish list stuff. Then again, people were wishlisting Torreira before the window opened.

Selling Ramsey and buying Kovacic makes perfect sense. Interestingly enough, I could see Ramsey moving to Juventus. He wants to move abroad and Juventus is a step up.

 

[Ceballinhos]

Realistically where would Ramsey go..? I struggle to come to a conclusion on who would buy him from us, what we talking 30-40mil?

Chelsea?

If we managed to sell the Ox for £35M when he had a year left on his contract I think we can get at least the same amount for Ramsey who is a much more proven player and HG too.

 

[dashsnow17]

Do people realise that Kovacic is far from perfect? He's 25 and still has a lot of flaws in his game. Sure he needs regular football and I hope he gets it, but I really don't see how he's an improvement on Ramsey like some are saying.

He could be a great player for sure, he has those same qualities that Wilshere has to dribble past players and take the ball up the field, but I'd rather keep Ramsey than have to spend time on rehabilitating Kovac's career.

 

[Slartibartfast]

Do people realise that Kovacic is far from perfect? He's 25 and still has a lot of flaws in his game. Sure he needs regular football and I hope he gets it, but I really don't see how he's an improvement on Ramsey like some are saying.

He could be a great player for sure, he has those same qualities that Wilshere has to dribble past players and take the ball up the field, but I'd rather keep Ramsey than have to spend time on rehabilitating Kovac's career.

No player is perfect, but what in particular are these flaws?

 

[dashsnow17]

No player is perfect, but what in particular are these flaws?

From what I've seen his understanding of the midfield role hasn't matured yet. He's always been super talented, he was a wonderkid after all, but I wonder if he still thinks he can dribble in every situation when it would be better to release the ball sooner. It reminds me of Wilshere. What he does can be amazing, but overall it doesn't affect games enough.

Don't get me wrong I really like him, I just don't think he's the ready-made player that people think is worth replacing Ramsey for. I'm so up for seeing a Xhaka-Torreira-Ramsey midfield, it has continuity and improvement but also a much-needed change. Adding Kovacic is just too much change.

 

[Dokaka]

Do people realise that Kovacic is far from perfect? He's 25 and still has a lot of flaws in his game. Sure he needs regular football and I hope he gets it, but I really don't see how he's an improvement on Ramsey like some are saying.

He could be a great player for sure, he has those same qualities that Wilshere has to dribble past players and take the ball up the field, but I'd rather keep Ramsey than have to spend time on rehabilitating Kovac's career.

He's 24, not 25.

No one is arguing he's a flawless player, but he's levels above Ramsey on the ball and is surprisingly capable defensively. He'd provide a lot of what people hoped Wilshere would but never did.

If you bring in Torreira and still want to play a midfield 3, you don't have anyone capable of receiving the ball and driving forward with it. Özil seems destined for the wing as he's ostensibly a necessity out there if you want to play both Laca and Auba (and not start someone like Iwobi).

Unless Iwobi is suddenly the answer, your team is in desperate need of someone who can hold on to the ball in tight spaces when Özil isn't playing. I think sacrificing what Ramsey brings to the table is worth it to add what Kovacic brings.

 

[dashsnow17]

He's 24, not 25.

No one is arguing he's a flawless player, but he's levels above Ramsey on the ball and is surprisingly capable defensively. He'd provide a lot of what people hoped Wilshere would but never did.

If you bring in Torreira and still want to play a midfield 3, you don't have anyone capable of receiving the ball and driving forward with it. Özil seems destined for the wing as he's ostensibly a necessity out there if you want to play both Laca and Auba (and not start someone like Iwobi).

Unless Iwobi is suddenly the answer, your team is in desperate need of someone who can hold on to the ball in tight spaces when Özil isn't playing. I think sacrificing what Ramsey brings to the table is worth it to add what Kovacic brings.

Ah my mistake. Not saying he doesn't offer something, obviously it's an attractive proposition. I just don't think it's attractive enough to ditch Ramsey for. My gut feeling is that Ramsey will sign a new deal and I'd be very happy with that. If i'm wrong and he leaves then obviously you could do a lot worse than Kovacic, but I wouldn't intentionally go out and replace Ramsey with Kovacic. Just my personal opinion.

 

[Garrincha]

He kicks up a fuss every summer.

Has a deal till 2021 & nobody going to pay 44m buyout as the guy has stalled.

Loan back to Italy calls or a makeweight in Alison deal.

 

[Slartibartfast]

From what I've seen his understanding of the midfield role hasn't matured yet. He's always been super talented, he was a wonderkid after all, but I wonder if he still thinks he can dribble in every situation when it would be better to release the ball sooner. It reminds me of Wilshere. What he does can be amazing, but overall it doesn't affect games enough.

Don't get me wrong I really like him, I just don't think he's the ready-made player that people think is worth replacing Ramsey for. I'm so up for seeing a Xhaka-Torreira-Ramsey midfield, it has continuity and improvement but also a much-needed change. Adding Kovacic is just too much change.

Fair enough, but keep in mind he's a different player from Ramsey. He's more well-rounded and better in his defensive duties. More of a Cazorla type, really. Just depends on what you want.

 

[dashsnow17]

Fair enough, but keep in mind he's a different player from Ramsey. He's more well-rounded and better in his defensive duties. More of a Cazorla type, really. Just depends on what you want.

I think Wilshere is who he's most similar to. In some ways you could argue the similarities to Wilshere are very positive, but at the same time you could argue it's a bit of a bad omen. Is that style of player really suited to modern football? The old-school all-action b-2-b dribbler is a very rare thing these days, but is there a reason for that?

If Kovacic landed in the Arsenal squad I'd be really excited and hopeful that he could kick on. But we have Ramsey and i'm more than happy with that. Other fans probably look at Ramsey and wish they had a midfielder like that. You should appreciate what you do have, too.

 

[Slartibartfast]

I think Wilshere is who he's most similar to. In some ways you could argue the similarities to Wilshere are very positive, but at the same time you could argue it's a bit of a bad omen. Is that style of player really suited to modern football? The old-school all-action b-2-b dribbler is a very rare thing these days, but is there a reason for that?

If Kovacic landed in the Arsenal squad I'd be really excited and hopeful that he could kick on. But we have Ramsey and i'm more than happy with that. Other fans probably look at Ramsey and wish they had a midfielder like that. You should appreciate what you do have, too.

Don't really see much of a Wilshere comparison. Plays deeper, holds onto the ball much better and contributes a lot more defensively. Here's a scouting report (from 2017) I came across:

Kovačić is a complete midfielder and can play in every central position, and is well suited for a box-to-box role.

When he started his career he played as an attacking midfielder, but after the move to Inter he was often deployed as a regista or a deep-lying playmaker and that role made him even better. He makes an average of 1.7 tackles 0.78 interceptions per-game


His dribbling is simple but very effective, and the player is one of the best in the game at holding the ball. When he makes a forward run, with a few simple turns and changes of pace he can leave multiple opponents behind and open up space that wasn’t even there in the first place. With an 81.94% successful take-on rate, he does that on a regular basis.

His passing combined with his forward runs makes him a dangerous player for the opposition. On average, 91% of his passes find their target and he creates 0.63 chances and 0.52 key passes per-game.

The numbers for created chances could be higher, but the fact is he often plays as one of the two holding midfielders meaning that he doesn’t get in the final third very often.

 

[Big Poppa]

He's 24, not 25.

No one is arguing he's a flawless player, but he's levels above Ramsey on the ball and is surprisingly capable defensively. He'd provide a lot of what people hoped Wilshere would but never did.

If you bring in Torreira and still want to play a midfield 3, you don't have anyone capable of receiving the ball and driving forward with it. Özil seems destined for the wing as he's ostensibly a necessity out there if you want to play both Laca and Auba (and not start someone like Iwobi).

Unless Iwobi is suddenly the answer, your team is in desperate need of someone who can hold on to the ball in tight spaces when Özil isn't playing. I think sacrificing what Ramsey brings to the table is worth it to add what Kovacic brings.

I completely agree. Modric played in a similar manner when he was younger. Used to be much more of a dribbler. This guy will make people realise why the likes of Ramsey and Xhaka divide opinion so much.

 

[Trilly]

Do it.

Tbh we’re not a team who react to ‘come and get me’ pleas. I don’t expect anything to happen here.

 

[yybecause]

wanted him before Real move. classy player

 

[razörist]

Real won’t let him go, he’s dead-set to be Modric’s successor. Best deal you can hope for is a one or two year loan without option buy or Real will sell with a buy-back clause. Don’t think we want that.

 

[razörist]

Also no way he has a 44M release clause. Even Real’s third goalkeeper will have one higher that that. A release clause is mandatory in Spain and Real puts in ridiculous numbers for their release clauses. A player that they rate as the future of their midfield will not have one that low.