Mateo Kovacic is reportedly looking to leave Real Madrid.
According to a report from Cadena COPE in Spain, Real Madrid midfielder Mateo Kovacic has handed in a transfer request – but the club have rejected his attempts to leave.
Kovacic, 24, joined Real from Inter Milan in the summer of 2015, and whilst he has exceptional ability, he has found first-team football hard to come by.
The Croatian international has struggled to break into a midfield containing Casemiro, Luka Modric and Toni Kroos, restricting him to just 10 league starts last season.
Now, Cadena COPE report that Kovacic has asked to leave Real this summer, but the Spanish giants have refused his request for the moment, but the midfielder appears to be set on leaving.
Kovacic’s request comes after he was left on the bench for Croatia’s opening World Cup game against Nigeria on Saturday night, and he may now realise that sitting on the sidelines isn’t doing his career any good.
The news should be noteworthy for many clubs, but particularly Tottenham Hotspur, with The Telegraph recently reported that Spurs want to bring him in as a replacement for Mousa Dembele this summer.
Kovacic has the drive through midfield that Spurs are looking for in a successor to Dembele, whilst he also has huge potential to get even better under Pochettino.
Fans have often mentioned Kovacic as an ideal target, and he may well be the dream signing for Spurs in that central midfield role this summer – and now is the time to strike in a bid to tempt Real into granting Kovacic’s wish to move on.
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