The La Liga giants new manager, Ernesto Valverde is keen on reinforcements in central midfield and has planned to bring Mateo Kovacic to Camp Nou, who would be the first player since Luis Figo to cross the El Clasico divide, if the move goes through.
In case you didn’t know Real Madrid lured Mateo Kovacic away from Inter Milan in the summer of 2015, with the Nerazzurri reluctantly forced to sell their Croatian star to comply with Financial Fair Play rules, with both Barcelona and Real Madrid interested then. Eventually, Los Blancos parted with €29 million for Kovavic, but the deep-lying midfielder has failed to break into the first team – serving as a backup midfielder under both Rafa Benitez and Zinedine Zidane.
Barcelona are hoping to take advantage of the fact that Kovacic is reportedly unhappy with the playing time being afforded to him under Zinedine Zidane. With Andres Iniesta likely to have a reduced role this season, Valverde is hoping that Kovacic and Ivan Rakitic can replicate their impressive partnership for Croatia in the heart of Barcelona’s midfield.
Real Madrid boss Florentino Perez is naturally reluctant to let Kovacic leave, as the 23-year-old is viewed as the long term successor to Luka Modric in the heart of the Madrid's midfield.Reports in Spain claim that while the chances of Real Madrid negotiating directly with Barcelona for a fee are unlikely, the Catalans could sidestep that entirely by triggering Kovacic's release clause, allegedly set at €50 million.
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