Niko Kovac believes reported Tottenham Hotspur and West Ham United target Marcelo Brozovic is a ‘very good player’. But he told Nice-Matin that the Croatian will not end up at Monaco.
Rather than reward their all-action midfielder with a new, long-term contract after arguably the best season of his career at the San Siro, Inter Milan appear set to cash in instead.
Brozovic has just two years left on his current deal and, with the Serie A runners-up looking to reunite Antonio Conte with Arturo Vidal and N’Golo Kante, the Croatia international could be sacrificed to raise funds.
Calciomercato reported last week that West Ham, a side who are always in the market for the biggest of names despite underachieving year on year, are keen to snap up one of Europe’s most influential midfielders.
As are local rivals Tottenham (Gazzetta dello Sport).
Their task might have just got a little easier with Kovac ruling out a move to Monaco for Brozovic, even if he rates the 27-year-old highly.
“It’s always very easy to link me to a player that I have already managed,” says the former Bayern Munich boss. “I had him in the U21 selection (for the Croatian national team).
“He’s a very good player, an international, playing for a great team in Italy. But honestly, he’s not a player for us. We’re following other targets now.”
Kovac is not the only high-profile manager to praise Brozovic recently. Conte, the blue-eyed general, suggested that one of his go-to soldiers would soon become a ‘world class’ midfielder if he added goals to his game.
In 200 games for Inter, Brozovic has hit the target just 22 times.
Tottenham Hotspur’s record signings
- Tanguy Ndombele
£56 million
- Davinson Sanchez
£42 million
- Moussa Sissoko
£30 million
- Erik Lamela
£29 million
- Steven Bergwijn
£25 million
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