Tottenham have been offered the services of Real Madrid flop Mateo Kovacic as the Spanish giants look to raise funds to buy Monaco teenage sensation Kylian Mbappe.
Valued at just over £21 million, Kovacic has played a bit part with Real Madrid since arriving from Inter Milan in August 2015. Madrid paid just over £26m for him at the time of his arrival, but Kovacic has failed to make a major impact with the club.
The Croatian played 27 times from Madrid in La Liga last term, scoring once and assisting three goals. Only 19 of Kovacic’s appearances were starts as he had difficulty holding down a place in the side.
Real Madrid are about to capture Real Betis midfielder Dani Ceballos, which will make Kovacic expendable. The team are in the market for Mbappe and want to free up funds to pursue the youngster that has attracted interest from teams across the continent. Selling Kovacic would free up funds for the team to bid on the Frenchman.
Tottenham could be swayed into buying the midfielder, but Kovacic’s price seems a bit steep for the goals and assists he has scored in the past. Prior to signing with Real Madrid in 2015, Kovacic spent two and a half seasons with Inter. The midfielder was a regular in the Inter side during the 2014-15 season, and had a career high in goals scored with five.
Mateo Kovacic 2016-17 key stats:
- 1 goal in 27 in La Liga matches
- 3 assists in 27 La Liga matches
- 0.6 key passes per La Liga match
- 2.4 tackles per La Liga match