Tottenham target Marcelo Brozovic was in action as Brazil took on Croatia in the World Cup Quarter-Final, where Jermaine Jenas was on commentary duty.
It was Mondo Calcio News in Italy who revealed that Spurs are leading the race to sign the 30-year-old from Inter Milan, as Fabio Paratici works to reunite the midfielder with Antonio Conte.
However, Brozovic came under fire from Jenas during Croatia’s clash with Brazil for a “silly” mistake.
What’s the story?
Well, the Inter Milan No.77 received a card from Michael Oliver in the 32nd minute, and it was not a Christmas card.
Brozovic was booked by the 37-year-old following a foolish challenge on Neymar, which was unnecessary given the fact Dejan Lovren was covering him.
Jenas lambasted the Croatian for ending up in Oliver’s book so soon into the Quarter-Final clash, as it meant he would have to play the remainder of the game walking a tightrope against some of the world’s trickiest footballers.
Speaking on commentary duty alongside Guy Mowbray for BBC Sport, Jenas – who made 202 appearances for Tottenham – said: “Silly from Brozovic. You’re going to have these moments with Neymar, he has so much skill, but Lovren was there covering.
“You don’t want to be on a yellow and having to deal with Neymar for the rest of the night.”
Marcelo Brozovic would transform Tottenham
Regardless of his “silly” booking against Brazil, Brozovic still has the ability to make a huge impact at Tottenham.
We recently covered here on HITC Sport how the Croatia international broke his own record for distance covered in the Round of 16 win over Japan, covering 16.7km across 120 minutes in what was an impressive show of athleticism.
Brozovic previously set the record for most distance covered in one game at the World Cup in Croatia’s 2018 Semi-Final win over England in Russia, running 16.3km in that particular match.
Work rate like this, in a midfield alongside the already industrial Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg and Rodrigo Bentancur, could make Spurs a real force, so be sure to keep an eye on the Inter Milan maestro’s situation after the World Cup.
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