If mercurial number tens were all the rage in the 1990s and early 2000s, then creativity tends to come from a ather different source these days.
And it felt rather fitting that, as Eintracht Frankfurt secured their first European trophy in 40 long years, it was the most modern of footballers playing in the most modern of roles who had The Eagles soaring higher than ever before.
Filip Kostic is, in many ways, the epitome of football in 2022. The modern-day managaer’s dream.
Coach’s these days tend to value versatility, work-rate, tactical flexibility and energy above all, and Kostic has every single one of those attributes in spades.
With seven goals and 15 assists from his rampaging wing-back role on the left of Oliver Glasner’s tightly-wound 3-5-2 formation, Kostic was a deserving recipient of the Europa League’s Player of the Year award. One of the game’s most underrated players finally getting the attention he has deserved for so long.
Tottenham Hotspur are luring Ivan Perisic from Inter Milan
In fact, if Inter Milan hadn’t failed to reach an agreement with Ivan Perisic – the Croatian’s contract expires next month and talks stalled a long time ago – then it could have been Kostic packing his bags and boarding a flight to North London instead.
So says The Athletic anyway, indicating that the 29-year-old Serbia international was something of a contingency plan for a Tottenham side looking to bring in the sort of hard-running wing-back that have provided the platform for all of Antonio Conte’s most successful sides.
Instead, Conte’s relationship with Perisic – they won the Scudetto together in 2020/21 – has paved the way for arguably Serie A’s Player of the Season to join Spurs on a free transfer.
Perisic is in London today for a medical as he closes in on a two-year deal worth around £180,000-a-week, per The Telegraph.
But where does this leave Kostic? He, too, is locked a precarious situation, contract-wise. And, ahead of his 30th birthday in November, the former Hamburg and Stuttgart talisman is running out of time if he wishes to prove himself outside of the Bundesliga.
Will Filip Kostic get the move he deserves?
Calciomercato believe that Kostic also has a place on the respective radars of Arsenal and West Ham United. Both clubs are in the market for a new left-sider. And, given his age and contract situation, Kostic would probably come cheaper than the likes of Aaron Hickey and Federico Dimarco.
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Then again, his advancing years may be as much a curse as they are a gift. Arsenal, in particular, are prioritising players at the other end of their careers. Exuberance, over experience, is the order of the day at the Emirates.
Tottenham have bowed out of the battle for Kostic’s signature. Will Arsenal follow them? Or will the availability of a player at the peak of his powers prove too good to ignore?
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