Liverpool are reportedly looking to bolster their midfield this summer, with a £7.2 million bid for Inter Milan’s Mateo Kovacic the latest rumour.
Kovacic, 21, has been a star performer for Inter throughout a troubled Serie A season, with Roberto Mancini’s side currently languishing in eighth place – 10 points behind fourth-placed Napoli.
To add to their woes, the club are well reported to be struggling financially, with a potential Financial Fair Play sanction looming.
The ever-frugal Liverpool are seemingly looking to capitalise on this with a cut-price bid for Croatian midfielder Kovacic, as Italian journalist Tancredi Palmeri claimed via Twitter:
Liverpool have bid 10m€ for Inter's Kovacic
— Tancredi Palmeri (@tancredipalmeri) May 8, 2015
A £7.2 million bid for a creative midfielder who has scored five goals and made one assist in 31 games this season, as well as averaging 1.5 key passes and 2.6 dribbles per game, would represent a bargain for the Reds.
Kovacic is one of European football’s brightest young talents, but one who can come in and perform immediately.
However, as Palmeri continued, it may be too good to be true for manager Brendan Rodgers:
Last summer Inter rejected 20m€ from Barcelona for Kovacic. Inter value Kovacic not less than 30m€
— Tancredi Palmeri (@tancredipalmeri) May 8, 2015
£7.2 million is seemingly well below Inter’s valuation, with Palmeri suggesting that the club have previously rejected a bid of £14.4 million from Barcelona, and that a deal would require a fee of around £21.6 million.
Add to this the fact that Inter’s sporting director Piero Ausilio recently expressed his regret at selling Philippe Coutinho to the Reds for a similar fee.
Ausilio declared: “I would like young players to grow and succeed here; when I seen them play for other clubs, it makes me sad.”
Would he make the same mistake again with Kovacic? Liverpool can only hope.
However, even a deal of Palmeri’s suggested £21.6 million could represent great business for Liverpool when it comes to Kovacic.
- Read more: Scout Report: Mateo Kovacic
Statistics via WhoScored.
Should Liverpool continue to pursue their reported interest in Mateo Kovacic? Have your say in the comments below.
