Because of FFP restrictions, Chelsea need to slim down the squad and sell some players to balance the books. There is also the 28-year-old Croatian international Kovacic, who is on a one-year contract, who is a potential departure.
From Pep Guardiola's Manchester City extending an olive branch, to Tuchel's Bayern, even Serie A's AC Milan are waiting for their chance. Modric's successor, who defends well with the ball and occasionally scores twice, is obviously not lacking in the next home.
01. Chelsea need to slim down: good players everyone wants to grab
a. Chelsea open supermarket: there are a lot of good players
With Burleigh's ownership, Chelsea embarked on a buying spree. Someone will come, someone will go, but what Chelsea let go is not necessarily abandonment, it may also be talent.
After the failure of the contract extension, Rudiger and Christensen, who left the team on a free basis, joined Real Madrid and Barca respectively, making people see that the "Chelsea supermarket" has many good players.
However, not enough people have left, with some media ridiculing that if more players are not sold in the summer window, not only will Chelsea not be able to pass the FFP, but even the training ground next season will be overcrowded.
Kovacic, who currently has only one year left on his contract with the team, has been slow to get a contract extension offer, and the possibility of leaving the team in the summer window has become very likely.
b. The boss is a good midfielder, with Thomas Tuchel and AC Milan also interested
The first club to become interested in Kovacic was Manchester City, also from the Premier League. Guardiola has a great interest in the defensive and dribbling midfielder.
However, with Kovacic's former boss Thomas Tuchel in charge of Bayern, the German giants have also expressed interest in the Croatian.
Having played for Inter Milan and helped Real Madrid and Inter win the Champions League, Kovacic's strength is beyond doubt.
With only one year left on his contract, AC Milan are also looking to bid if the price is right, but this requires Manchester City and Bayern to exit before they can win.
02. Good defense + strong dribbling: He is Modric's successor
a. Excellent defensive ability: both pressing and interception are good hands
Mateo Kovacic is placed at Chelsea at the double back, which is not particularly suitable for him. Especially with Enzo Fernandez, both are good at pressing and moving, not dragging behind, but magnifying the flaws.
In contrast, in the Croatian national team, Kovacic's defensive value will obviously come better and reflect his characteristics.
Croatia's advantage is smooth ball and passing in the midfield, while the attack and defense switch quickly and land.
This time Kovacic organized a pass on the flank, and after his teammate was broken, he immediately chased back, completing a crucial interception before the big penalty area line.
Kovacic's position selection and movement on the defensive end is still very characteristic. This time, he happened to follow two Turkish players who did not receive the ball, allowing him to take care of the opponent's two potential attacking points.
Kovacic is still relatively accurate on the defensive end, and has a fast frequency of kicks. This time the interception is still critical.
A midfielder can limit two no-ball points to one person when he is in a defensive position, which may be the reason why Kovacic was hit by Pep Guardiola.
Kovacic also has excellent front-top pressing, he often does not aim for steals, but through his timely and fast movements, he can make the opponent uncomfortable and give up the best line for attack.
This time the ball was directly broken, which can be regarded as an unexpected surprise. The important thing is that after taking the ball, Kovacic has a reliable ability to control the ball and can calmly hold the ball.
b. Propulsion is a good hand: dribbling is one of the strengths
Mateo Kovacic has the second longest distance to carry the ball in all competitions at Chelsea, behind Thiago Silva. Considering that his position is higher, the gold content will naturally be higher than that of his central defender teammates.
In the advance, Kovacic's passing creativity is more average, but the quality of his promotion is still very high.
This time he easily threw off the Turkish defender after taking the speed, and after passing the ball to Passarić, he also had a move to step back to contain the opposing full-back, giving Stanisic on the flank a huge space to insert forward.
Looking at this wave of counter-attacks, Kovacic started the first shot after winning the ball easily. The other party had no choice but to choose to foul him and put him down.
03. The passing creativity is average, and the forward shot is actually quite good
a. Passing creativity is average, only suitable for auxiliary work
Kovacic has a 62% success rate in the Champions League and a 52% success rate in one-on-one matches on the ground, although the competition for the high ball is weaker.
His biggest problem, somewhat similar to Modric in his early years, lacks creativity in the final pass and is more suitable for supporting work.
In this round, Kovacic used Brozovic's pocket to complete the break. The pass was still very bright and after the second victory, he used the change in center of gravity to start and push past the first defender.
But after coming to the core area, the last pass was too flat, and even let the attack of the side into a dead end.
Looking at this wave of counter-attacking opportunities, everything was going well, the problem was that Kovacic made a mistake in the last straight to Kramaric in the front.
Kovacic's problem limits his chances to get more at the front, and it also prevents him, who is good at pressing and moving, from showing his talents in a higher position.
Kovacic is more suitable for combing in the middle. He gave the balls on both sides, which was still good.
By possession, dribbling and moving to the wings, Croatia's favourite wide advance and cross tactics are played.
It can be clearly seen from the camera that Kovacic is still very high in terms of passing and catching. The pass does not require impressive, he can be done with quality and quantity.
b. The scoring ability is actually good
As mentioned above, Kovacic actually scored well, but the problem was that he lacked creativity in key passes, so the coach was reluctant to let him play in the front midfield.
At the same time, Kovacic's pressure and interception are very strong, but his success rate in grabbing is not particularly high, and there will be moments when he is passed, so as a back, there will be some flaws.
In the European qualifiers against Turkey, Kovacic scored twice and his first goal was crisp.
Kramaric and Passarić were dragging their feet back and forth in the middle, and Kovacic slapped his horse and hit a fatal blow.
In the Premier League before the national team matchday, Kovacic also scored a beautiful goal for Chelsea.
It was also Chelsea's 2,000th Premier League goal in history, with Kovacic carving his name on the milestone.
Conclusion:
From Inter to Real Madrid, Kovacic was also appreciated by Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp before coming to Chelsea.
When both Guardiola and Tuchel want to recruit him, I wonder who will end up with Modric's successor?