Surprises me that people say we don't need midfielders, I think the opposite is the case. Anyone who has had to suffer the performances of ALL our midfielders for the last few months surely must agree. At least Lucas has the excuse that he's physically f***** (and to my mind hasn't been THAT bad), whereas Allen and Henderson have no such safety net to fall into. If this lad isn't better than all three of those, we should seriously look elsewhere. My suspicion is though that he probably is, as it isn't difficult.
I think we do need midfielders, but many seem to think that Kovacic's best position is behind the strikers.
I can't pretend I've seen much of him but I can offer some examples:
-
http://www.football-italia.net/60300/kovacic-conundrum-
http://www.squawka.com/news/inters-wondrous-wilcard-what-is-mateo-kovacics-best-position/7380-
http://bleacherreport.com/articles/1988124-transfer-target-who-will-rescue-mateo-kovacic-from-interThe last one, from March 2014, even suggest he might be better played wide, cutting inside:
The confusion can be traced to Kovacicâs time at Dinamo Zagreb, when he was made to play deeper as the team needed a cover for their trequartista Sammir (now at Getafe)âquite an old-school âNo. 10â who usually operated only in the small central patch of field, linking the midfield and the attack. Young, modest and hard-working as he was, Kovacic never objected, though analysts warned his talents werenât being put to best use.
...
But Kovacic may not be perfect for central midfieldâheâs not as compact and great in shielding the ball as, say, his Croatia teammate Luka Modric. He can get outmuscled by more robust players and he's rather weak in the air. Rather than controlling the middle of the park by keeping the ball in movement with many touches and short passes, he needs space to flourish.
With his exceptional agility, light feet and impressive acceleration with the ball, the natural position for him might be where it all startedâon the wing, from where he would cut inside to act as an auxiliary playmaker. If they failed to recognize that at Inter, other clubs might be more inclined to try him out wide.
If those who think he is better as an attacking midfielder are right, I really don't think he's a big priority. I agree with whoever said that sometimes you just have to sign them when players of great quality become available, but it worries me that we might be signing someone and expecting him to play as CM only to find out, throughout the season, that he plays better further up the field where we already have Coutinho and Lallana.
All of this is merely speculative of course. If he comes, I'll be excited no matter what because what everyone seems to agree on is that he is a very talented player.
If I were part of the transfer committee, however, I'd be more inclined to look for a Illarramendi or Geis from Mainz.
Logged