3 Jun 2015

Transfer Breakthrough? 'Extraordinary' £30m playmaker drops massive Liverpool transfer hint. Done deal this summer?

Last week, Liverpool 'executives' allegedly met with Croatian midfielder Mateo Kovacic to discuss a possible transfer to Liverpool. €30m-rated Kovacic is reportedly one of LFC's top transfer targets this summer, but what are the chances of a deal being sealed? Fellow Croat Dejan Lovren is already at Anfield, and the £20m defender has dropped a huge hint that his international team mate is on the way to Merseyside.

Last Friday, ESPN 'sources' claimed that:

* Liverpool have submitted a £10m [€14m] bid for 'extraordinary' Kovacic, and the Reds are willing to offer Lucas Leiva in part-exchange.

* Three Reds 'executives' met with Kovacic and Inter sporting director Piero Ausilio on Friday to discuss a transfer.

* Inter allegedly made it clear that they will not accept anything less than €30m for Kovacic, who is allegedly 'desperate' to sign for Liverpool.

This afternoon, Lovren posted on Instagram an image of himself and Kovacic:



What does this mean? Probably nothing. Lovren and Kovacic are currently on international duty ahead of Croatia's Euro qualifier against Italy, so there's nothing mysterious about them being photographed together.

On the other hand...

Of everyone in Croatia's squad, why did Lovren choose to be photographed with Kovacic? Why not pose with Rakitic, Modric, or Mandzukic? Could it be that he has some inside information about an impending transfer?

Whatever the reality, Liverpool's pursuit of 21-year old Kovacic underlines one ongoing reality: the club is still persisting with the failing 'buy 'em young' policy, and if Kovacic is earmarked as Steven Gerrard's replacement, then it just shows that Rodgers (and FSG) have learned nothing over the last three seasons.

For the right price, Kovacic is an interesting option, but in my view, there's arguably no chance of him having the required transformative impact in his first season. As such, why bother with yet another young player who will allegedly come good at some undetermined point in the future?



If Kovacic is such an amazing prospect, why are Inter Milan so 'desperate' to sell? It doesn't make sense. You don't hear about top clubs being 'desperate' to sell their brightest prospects; if Kovacic is so good, then Inter would fight tooth and nail to keep him, no?

Another concern: In March, Kovacic's agent barked:

"Roberto Mancini doesn’t use him [Kovacic] in the right way or for enough time. These Coaches have no idea how to play him!"

If Mancini and other 'Coaches' don't know how to utilise Kovacic properly, then what are the chances of Brendan Rodgers - the master of playing square pegs in round holes - getting it right?

Author: Jaimie K


75 comments:

  1. 10mill plus markovich and allen

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  2. Square pegs in round holes MUST STOP or BR on the Dole by 31/10 begins

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  3. Im skeptical that this pic has anything to do with a move to Liverpool. Croatia has a Euro Qualifier coming up in a fortnight so I'd put this among team mates hanging out before training camp. BR has a mighty big task ahead and a fan base whom isn't necessarily behind his decision making. If the man was smart he'd build the squad up more defensively before adding to the already crowded midfield.

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  4. Just a shame that it's your column and you quote 'extraordinary playmaker' as a grab line; In the write up you then claim in not so many words that he is not the solution. The grab line should have been, 'another potential disaster has 5% chance of signing terms with liverpool'.....c mon Jamie your a knowledgable lad and a good writer but like Markovic.....up your game :)

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  5. Fellaini posted an image of him with Benteke and Lukaku posted a picture of him with mirallas, chadli and Witsel.
    It doesn't mean anything, could just simply mean that they share the same bedroom or get along well.

    Asking €30M for a 21yo who spent the season on the bench doesn't look like they are desperate to get rid of him.

    The biggest problem is not that we are buying young, it's that we are not buying QUALITY player, doesn't matter if they are young as long as they are quality to me.(i've not seen much of kovacic so i can't say anything about him if i'm honest)

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  6. thinking about it...got me reading, job done

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  7. At least we know Dejan is a gentleman...


    His shirt says so

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  8. Ray and Logan... Logan and Ray... Logan is Ray... Ray is Logan!

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  9. i'm not a fan of Markovic but selling him now would not be wise imo.
    We might as well give him another year and (hopefully) play him in his favourite position, not like his value could fall any further.

    Even though i've not seen a lot of Kovacic considering what i've seen from Allen i wouldn't be mad to see him include in the exchange though.

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  10. we know why he's an awful defender now... stopping a striker having a go at the keeper would show he has no manner at all !

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  11. I was being ironic at firsf but the more I think about it the better that deal gets,we need players who can a
    Affect games and Allen and Marko can't and in my opinion nether will

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  12. Looks absolute quality player

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  13. He is a ray of sunshine for Loges...

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  14. I concur. His bodily posture while using two legs is quite intriguing.

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  15. Here's how this pans out, we over pay ,we under play,we loan out player,

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  16. At first it sounded like a right word at the right place, but then I thought that I am calling for a response like yours...

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  17. Kovacic being labelled 'extraordinary' is a fact (Roberto Mancini said that in March).

    Kovacic turning out to be 'another potential disaster' with a '5% chance of signing' is not a fact, hence it's not in the headline.


    For the most part, I only put factual info in headlines, mostly gleaned from factual quotes.

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  18. I don't know why everyone is picking on Markovic, he has great raw ability but he juste needs to produce it on a consistent bases (and improve confidence but that'll come in time). He only played one game in his REAL position at left wing and that was against City in one of his first appearances for us; apart from that game he has NEVER started a game in the left wing but instead at RWB.
    And playing him on the right wing still counts as out of position because he is a predominantly left wing player. He will prove that he deserve his price tag and I think over the next few years he will go on to be a first team player. I have faith in him.
    Sorry this isn't directed at you specifically but for everyone on this site that thinks he should be sold as I have seen it many times- (in case you aren't bothered to read the whole comment) IF WE CLAIM THAT YOU'LL NEVER WALK ALONE THEN WHY DO WE NEGLECT PLAYERS AFTER ONE SEASON OR SO PLAYING OUT OF POSITION? We need to fix up and stop being so ignorant and impatient with our club. That's not to say LFC don't deserve the criticism, because we do, but as fans we can either get p*ssed at the club or have some faith.

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  19. Rodgers doesn't do logic he's way to clever ......he would sooner buy a player we don't need and play him out of position in a system he doesn't understand

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  20. I agree with some points but I expect a 20million footballer to be able to trap and pass a ball regardless of position ......here the kicker he can't,

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  21. Though factual quotes are not always factual info or truth. Or am I hair splitting?

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  22. That picture pretty much establishes that we've already signed kovavcic which is great news. Now hopefully we can sign an Argentian player and he can get a photo with messi....

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  23. I've not really got room for Marko or Allen, but with that £10m, I'll figure it out, so with JK on this. I'll take it

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  24. Manx TT races start this weekend, so I can forget about football transfers for a while and get my kicks watching grown men screaming round roads at 130 mhp with nothing but brick walls and houses to stop them when they crash... Love it.

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  25. I agree markovic is lacking confidence not ability. You can't be in europa league tan of the year age 19 to no good. Also if we get milner of prefer to see kondogbia or similar and Clyne brought in. pkonoplyanka on a free and then vietto or telex. Not Benteke. He's not the answer

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  26. "For the right price, Kovacic is an interesting option, but in my view,
    there's arguably no chance of him having the required transformative
    impact in his first season. As such, why bother with yet another young
    player who will allegedly come good at some undetermined point in the
    future?"



    James Milner will be ideal to help fill that void till the kid gets up to speed.... Am I seeing a logic to these transfers... ????

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  27. Sell Lucas, Allen, Mario and Sterling and bring Kondogbia, Richards, Milner. Ings.


    .......................Mignolet
    Richards......Skrtel..,,,Sakho......Moreno
    .......................Kondogbia
    .......Henderson...........Can
    .....................Coutinho
    ..........Ings................Origi


    And we have on the bench Manquillo and Flanno for RB, Lovren and one out of Wisdom/Ilori/Coates for the CB, Milner for at least 3 positions in the midfield, Lallana for another two, Ibe for the wing, Sturidge for CF, Markovic for AM/wing.


    And you have at least enough money for another full back and a striker.

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  28. In a pretty bleak few Red months, I'll take this as a good sign, thanks.

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  29. ...and Liverpool will be paying with what? Good feelings? It's been suggested we only have 20mil. Need to sell all the signings from last year to sign this year's disappointments to sell next year. In Brendan we trust.

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  30. I trust that some people will let me down.

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  31. Origi : 'I think Liverpool is a wonderful club that deserves to be at the top and to be honest with the players they have, with the quality they have, then they should be finishing at the top of the league.'

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  32. 10 mill plus markovic allen And lovren and balo and lambert and borini and mignolet and rodgers and pascoe and marsh and ayre and werner and henry.. and they can keep kovacic

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  33. While we're at Villareal failing to sign Vietto, why not make fleeting eye contact with Giovanni Dos Santos?

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  34. As long as we keep Johnson

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  35. Ayre will be in his best Sunday leathers, of course.

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  36. Thats a given, thats a given.. What we cant do is be rash.. 58 year deal for johno and a 70% stake in the club would send out a real statement of intent...

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  37. Because were crap at football :(

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  38. THe clause was probably inserted by Vietto, not the club. It's his way of making sure the club doesn't hold him hostage for money abroad.


    Regardless, it's only reports. Probably not true either way.

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  39. Oh of course, arseless leather chaps is his negotiating attire... no wonder we keep getting turned down :)

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  40. As pascoes legs homie

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  41. Glen Johnson.

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  42. This is OrME, not OrIGI.. Not really funny, is it...

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  43. It was a question directed at Origi. Obviously he will not be able to answer it but to make such a statement when we finished 6th clearly suggests that he is excited about playing for LFC but has no clue what he is talking about and what he is getting himself into.

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  44. I'm sure he knows he'll be 'outstanding' and show 'fantastic ability' next season, win or lose.

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  45. I know I was trying to be funny..
    And regarding what he said, he is not right, but that is exactly the spirit I want at the club. Players and supporters.

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  46. I have to disagree. I have seen no evidence that Studge is mentally weak. He's actually shown the opposite. He's played while obviously not 100% fit but has shown when fit he's clinical. I don't subcribe to the theory that being injury prone equals mentally weak that some do. Augeros and Van Persies injury records leave much to be desired also doesn't mean its all in his mind.

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  47. Plenty of character on show from origi i must say, pinnochio is the one that comes to mind because hes lying through his pearly whites, although hes joining a team with more character then snow white and the seven dwarfs so he will fit in nicely, oytstanding

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  48. Someone made the quotes, therefore they exist, in fact. The content of the quote is not the issue.

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  49. Jamie, please try and be a bit positive! Whatever BR'S faults he is here till at least xmas. It was a crap season with lots of ups and downs, admittedly more downs but at least we had a couple of months getting excited (even if most of us knew it wouldn't last!) We will be up there in the thick of it next season. The last couple of games aside, we didn't do to bad considering we had no striker all season and for the most part played with ten men with Stirling's late season performances. (9 if you include Johnson! ).....

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  50. Remember this is the club that sold Coutinho for 8.5 million.

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  51. I am unsure. Perhaps when he signed his deal the club thought that amount would be high for him. We.Had a clause in Suarez's deal he couldn't be sold to an English club for the seventy five. You don't want to benefit rivals.

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  52. This could work in reverse.

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  53. Who could? There are a lot of people wanting to write you off before you kick a ball.

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  54. But basing your headline on it, the content must be an issue? It is just the word factual you mention that bothers me, and the way the headline sounds factual. No big deal, just sounds wrong...

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  55. Yes because he always forgets to turn his back :)

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  56. You watch, Brendan is going to lead us to the title next season, and all the hate is going to turn into, Ialways knew he had it in him..... These players all have the ability to go to the next level... A few intelligent additions, and we'll be good...

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  57. Hope so. Though I have a feeling his agent will make similar scathing comments about Brendan if he signs. I can see it now... Kovacic losing playing time to the likes of Joe Allen and James Milner, or even better yet, being played at wing back, where certain fans will slate him for not being worth 20m.


    Hey at least Dejan can talk well about the manager...he gave away a fan favorite/talisman who literally had the club's motto tattooed on him to make room for him, then tried to get rid of our best center back to cement Lovren's spot in the starting 11, and finally stuck with him through thick and thin as he set records for defensive ineptitude during the 1st half of the season

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  58. Call me a pessimist. I really do not know what better terms can we offer to the player that Arsenal can't match? Whatever we have, they have it more and whatever they have, we can only dream of, at least the present cirucmstances define so. World-class manager and co-players, potential and progress of the club, financies and wages, stadium, UCL & London. The one & only possibility for us to nip him away under Arsenal's nose is to offer 2x more than what Arsenal is offering, and that's provided he's an outright mercenary that values money over glory.

    If we are really in a state of rebuilding (forever?!), I supposed we have more realistic targets to look at all around the globe, if not just around Europe. I believe there are many full-fledged internationals from supposedly second-tier European nations, even though England is considered one in itself now, wanting to play for us. Of course I don't mean throwing big money at those very young unestablished players or one-season-wonders e.g. 20 mil pounds for a 20 year-old Lazar Markovic, and hoping they will walk straight into the first team and perform miracle. If they are only good young mortals that cannot conjure any magic of any sort, they will either be played out of position (a price-tag justifying act or...?!) or benched and eventually lining up for the exit door of the club.

    These are the kind of negligent acts we have been doing for a long time and as a result, we are always in a state of rebuilding. We must remember LFC is not the play thing for some Russians or Arabs. FSG is just a sports management company that may backed off from this investment if financies are not going right. I do not want to see our club, still the 8th richest club in the world, to go into some kind of fianancial meltdown or anything along this line. Sorry...pessimism at work, again.

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  59. Yes, vitelo and Martinez would be grand, but will never happen. Quality players dont want to go to Liverpool if a CL team is interested in a glamour locale. Our plan is to clearly sign young players from mid-table prem teams and hope they come good. Meanwhile, we continue to miss CL and fall further until we are mid-table feeders. Future looks poor...very poor.

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  60. You can't go on the basis that if a club is 'desperate to sell' the player is going to be a flop, he'd be a good signing and if we unearthed a gem in continuo from inter, I think we could get the best out of him, if he comes lovren may come good too. We've been saying since we sold torres, 1 main striker isnt enough, we need to spend on a proven goal hungry monster and add to the talent we already have, attack is the best for of defence and that's what Liverpool do best, so spend 150 - 200 mill on 2 proven strikers and 2 more centre mids, we don't need a big overhaul just proven experienced, winning mentallyity player's, if we come 2nd with suarez, I reckon we could better that, with 2 top strikers at whatever cost, put a cheeky bid in for RVP I think, Di Maria maybe, they'd both thrive at lfc with the way we play but it's the big hole in the middle (not ya belly button) that's going to be hardest to get Over. ...Brendan my number is 07XXXXXXX

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  61. Well said. In sosome way cohfirmation if an operation means there was an injury. Like you said, nothing to do with mentality if you're injured.

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  62. @Kopita I really love your idea u hv said it all and it this our coach Brendan Rodgers supposed to be looking out does kind of world class players like Higuain, Yarmolenko, Nani and last Milner all this are more better than buying junior players because as he stand now we need to start winning cups or even challenging for the premier league in this new season 15-16 now, starting right now.

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  63. BR wouldn't be too happy with you ;)

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  64. Who says he didn't pose with any other players? He just happend to post this one :-)

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  65. Nani...and no full backs?


    this line up is a joke...

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  66. Talk about negativity! Fucking hell!

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  67. I read a very interesting article about 2 games (in particular) Kovacic played as a left side CM in support of Modric. ...basically though his jpb was to position himself to intercept, he wasnt a pure DM.

    You should see a Liverpool midfield set up with Can as DM, with either Milner/Henderson with Kovacic in front.

    Alternatively its Kovacic in the DM and Henderson & Coutinho right in front.

    Both are meant to break up play and get us moving forward quickly. No more lateral passes from Lucas starting to build up play slowly. Liverpool have had a hard time breaking down play ---and this is why Kovacic is so important.

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  68. Liverpool need kopliyenko and yermalenko and if as you said Nani is free agent is no brainer we should sign him before anyone else sign him.and defence midfielder one more striker and that is it for me i am confince if we sign those players we can win the premiership let alone the top 4

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