Tottenham have been linked again to Mateo Kovacic.
Real Madrid’s Mateo Kovacic (L) in action against Shakhtar Donetsk’s Fred
The Mirror reported this week that Mateo Kovacic is a summer transfer target for Tottenham Hotspur.
Kovacic has had a mixed campaign at Real Madrid, where he has made 18 starts in all competitions but struggled to find his best form.
The Croatian has two goals and two assists, but is coming into form, with one of his goals and both assists coming within his last five appearances.
Kovacic is an attacking midfielder who would compete with Christian Eriksen for a spot at Tottenham, and a deal could make sense given the fact Spurs are long term admirers of his talents.
Tottenham have been tracking Kovacic since he was just 16, with a Metro report in 2010 claiming Spurs were closely monitoring his progress at Dynamo Zagreb.
Argentina’s Lionel Messi in action against Mateo Kovacic of Croatia
Back then he was being hailed as the ‘Croatian Lionel Messi’, with the paper reporting that then manager Harry Redknapp would weigh up a move.
Kovacic is now 22 and turns 23 in May, and remained at Dinamo Zagreb until 2013.
He broke into the first team and earned a move to Inter Milan, but it was a case of wrong club and wrong time, with the Italians’ numerous managerial changes hampering his progress.
It was a little of a surprise when Rafa Benitez brought him to Real Madrid in 2015, and Kovacic has found it hard going in terms of making an impact.
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