Mateo Kovacic

[yido_number1]

World class players don't go for £60M, it's not 2009.

Look at the world class players who've moved in the last few years:

Ronaldo (aged 33) - £88.5M
Coutinho - £106M
Neymar - £198M
Mbappé - £120M
Bale - £86M
Pogba - £89M

The level of player we've got moving for around the £60M nowadays are the likes of Mahrez (£60M), Lemar (£63M), Laporte (£57M), Aubameyang (£56M).

I wouldn't say those four were 'world class'. Very good players, yes, but they're not in the same echelons as Bale, Ronaldo and Neymar.

We need to get out of this mind set that £60M is a massive transfer fee. Yes it was 9 years ago, when Kaka moved for a record £56M before Ronaldo moved for another record of £80M, but we're not dealing in the 2009 market now. £60M buys you quality, but not the best players in the world.

£60M for a player of Kovacic's quality and age (he's 24) seems about right. In fact if you want to compare him to 27 year old Mahrez who many don't think has had more than one outstanding season then I actually think it represents a bit of a steal.

All of the players you named above were absolute stars for the team they were being bought for and went on to become first choice for the team they signed for. Kovacic hasn't broken into the first team much at all. Don't forget we sold them Modric for 30m all be it a long time ago. A better comparison was Kante for up to 40m.

 

[wrd]

All of the players you named above were absolute stars for the team they were being bought for and went on to become first choice for the team they signed for. Kovacic hasn't broken into the first team much at all. Don't forget we sold them Modric for 30m all be it a long time ago. A better comparison was Kante for up to 40m.

Kante had a release clause.

 

[Ben1]

All of the players you named above were absolute stars for the team they were being bought for and went on to become first choice for the team they signed for. Kovacic hasn't broken into the first team much at all. Don't forget we sold them Modric for 30m all be it a long time ago. A better comparison was Kante for up to 40m.

1. Modric happened yonks ago in market terms

2. Occasionally you get players cheaper due to contracts (Toby) and release clauses ( was case for Kante). Kante was also two years ago now, which in this market is a long time for price development.

Also no one is claiming Kovacic is world class. You said youd expect world class at 60mil, the response was 'world class will cost 160, 60 is normal for a Kovacic level player'

 

[freeeki]

All of the players you named above were absolute stars for the team they were being bought for and went on to become first choice for the team they signed for. Kovacic hasn't broken into the first team much at all. Don't forget we sold them Modric for 30m all be it a long time ago. A better comparison was Kante for up to 40m.

Kante had a release clause.

If anyone got him for under £100M now I’d be amazed.

 

[yiddo]

If you believe the Utd story then surely that means that he is available at a price. This is something we should be exploring...

 

[Rout-Ledge]

The market has shifted massively, even in just a couple of years. If a player is well in contract, young and very much wanted by the buying club, then it’s almost ‘name your price’.

 

[djee]

The market has shifted massively, even in just a couple of years. If a player is well in contract, young and very much wanted by the buying club, then it’s almost ‘name your price’.

Further complicated by a pricing variability based on whether a club is selling to a PL side.

The market will not be able to maintain this level for too long. I genuinely believe within 5 years, at least 1 and likely 2/3 PL clubs will have gone bust. The TV money will not be able to sustain the transfer spend and wages over the long haul. Lots of teams panicking now to ensure PL survival may face a more fundamentally existential issue in due course.

 

[Indacupfortottenham]

The market has shifted massively, even in just a couple of years. If a player is well in contract, young and very much wanted by the buying club, then it’s almost ‘name your price’.

It has and has also done us a massive favour I think where players like Kane and Eriksen are concerned - not many clubs out there that could afford them in today’s market.

 

[LexingtonSpurs]

World class players don't go for £60M, it's not 2009.

This.

There are no price controls on player transfers. Players are not over-priced. They are precisely priced to reflect what a willing buyer will pay a willing seller. Teams have to decide how much they are willing to pay (and at the same time, teams have to decide how much money they are willing to accpet.)

Thus far, teams that have players we want, have not been willing to accept what Levy has been willing to pay. There is risk for both sides, but so far, Levy is not willing to shift his risk acceptance levels.

 

[Rout-Ledge]

It has and has also done us a massive favour I think where players like Kane and Eriksen are concerned - not many clubs out there that could afford them in today’s market.

Agreed. Clubs won't even try and unsettle them in the way we were used to in the past because they know how much it would cost them.

Even M'Bappe at £120m now looks like a bit of a steal in today's insane market.

Madrid don't want to sell Kovacic, despite him apparently wanting to leave. They will therefore need to be tempted to sell, so you either pay up or shut up. Expecting a 'fair' price on a player the selling club wants to keep just doesn't work.

 

[Rout-Ledge]

Thus far, teams that have players we want, have not been willing to accept what Levy has been willing to pay. There is risk for both sides, but so far, Levy is not willing to shift his risk acceptance levels.

Which may result in us freezing ourselves out of the market completely.

If the market just keeps on inflating, you can't just sit on your assets and hope for the bubble to burst. This is football, players age and contracts run down. Paying what seems like a high fee at the time may seem like a big risk, but ultimately is it more of a risk than spending £20m each on a few lesser players? £30m for Modric seemed a decent deal for us back in 2012, a mere four years later we were spending more than that on Sissoko.

 

[gavspur]

£140million to Madrid for Bale and Kovacic, then they can go get Neymar or Mbappe to please their fans.

#daydreambeliever

 

[LeParisien]

World class players don't go for £60M, it's not 2009.

Look at the world class players who've moved in the last few years:

Ronaldo (aged 33) - £88.5M
Coutinho - £106M
Neymar - £198M
Mbappé - £120M
Bale - £86M
Pogba - £89M

The level of player we've got moving for around the £60M nowadays are the likes of Mahrez (£60M), Lemar (£63M), Laporte (£57M), Aubameyang (£56M).

I wouldn't say those four were 'world class'. Very good players, yes, but they're not in the same echelons as Bale, Ronaldo and Neymar.

We need to get out of this mind set that £60M is a massive transfer fee. Yes it was 9 years ago, when Kaka moved for a record £56M before Ronaldo moved for another record of £80M, but we're not dealing in the 2009 market now. £60M buys you quality, but not the best players in the world.

£60M for a player of Kovacic's quality and age (he's 24) seems about right. In fact if you want to compare him to 27 year old Mahrez who many don't think has had more than one outstanding season then I actually think it represents a bit of a steal.

You’re right about much of what you say and I rate kovacic but ...

The other £60m players you mentioned all played regularly for good clubs and performed consistently to a very high standard. I’m not sure we can say that about kovacic who has been an understudy.

I wouldn’t spend more than £50m on him.

 

[Grey Fox]

You’re right about much of what you say and I rate kovacic but ...

The other £60m players you mentioned all played regularly for good clubs and performed consistently to a very high standard. I’m not sure we can say that about kovacic who has been an understudy.

I wouldn’t spend more than £50m on him.

Its not your money ?

 

[Guntz]

Its not your money ?

Please please please

 

[voxy28]

Its not your money ?

is there truth in this link?

 

[LeParisien]

Its not your money ?

I doubt he’d come anyway. Not with a young baby in the house !

 

[Ghost Hardware]

Considering i have wanted us to sign him since he was at Inter i am refusing to believe there is any chance of this. I dont mind entertaining chitty chat about Martial, Zaha etc but i cant deal with this one becoming a thing and then not being a thing.

 

[Ekmek]

I meant Rakitic in the national team. Casemiro is a deeper player.

Yes but Kovacic can play in Casemiros role as well. Thats one thing I like about him, he can play dm, cm and am.

 

[double0]

60 for Kovacic is actually a really fair price.

Maybe we can get him for that and spend the allegedly 90m we have earmarked for transfers on a canon that can send GKN or Sissoko out of the earths orbit. 1 in 1 out.

How is that price justified ? He ain’t a reg for Real nor Croatia he hasn’t proven anything substantial yet. I am not saying he isn’t a good player He just reminds me of the ex Southampton player recently sold to I believe Ajax Tadic