Spanish newspaper Mundo Deportivo carry a headline on Tuesday reading ‘Real reject €30m from Tottenham for Kovacic’.
It’s not too hard to take a sledgehammer to the claims. Mundo Deportivo say it comes from the Daily Star, and the English newspaper’s claims weren’t quite so brash.
Regardless, Mundo Deportivo believe Tottenham have made a €30m offer for Kovacic and that’s not enough for Real Madrid. It’s also claimed to be an improvement on Spurs’ initial offer, which is reported as €25m.
Should Tottenham interest be genuine then they need to spend a little more, or actually make a €30m offer, rather than it being imagined.
Perhaps a bigger problem is Kovacic’s will. Should the 23 year old Croatian want to leave Madrid to help his progression, which Mundo Deportivo suggest could be stagnated if he remains, then the Spanish club will likely sell.
However, so far Kovacic has shown no signs of wanting to leave, despite being pushed further doqwn the pecking order by Madrid’s latest round of recruitment.
Before the end of August, Real Madrid play Manchester United in the European Super Cup, something they’ll take seriously, and two legs against Barcelona in the Spanish Super Cup. Then there are matches against Deportivo La Coruna and Valencia, and it should give Kovacic a reasonable idea of where he stands.
Should the Croatian be disappointed with his involvement, then that’s when Tottenham would be best advised to move. The last match, against Valencia, is on August 27th, so plays into prime Spurs-last-minute-transfer time.