[ad_1]
Maurizio Sarri revealed that he wanted to keep Mateo Kovacic at Chelsea next season because he thought Real Madrid could become a "very good central midfielder".
The 24-year-old signed a seasonal loan agreement last summer with the Bernabeu. He has since made 42 appearances in all competitions for Sarri, often in exchange with Ross Barkley in Chelsea's three-way midfielder.
Although he is used as Sarri's left-foot midfielder, charged with contributing to the Sarri-Ball-style match, the Croatian has not scored yet and some fans have questioned what exactly the lender brings.
The Italian, however, does not have any illusions about what Kovacic is doing and believes that, despite the problems faced by Chelsea in the midfield this season, the Croatian has the potential to become a very good midfielder and would like him to stay at the Bridge.
However, Sarri is struggling to make it happen.
The embargo on transfers from two windows of FIFA, if it is respected, means that the Blues could not make Kovacic's move permanent, nor re-borrow it for another season.
But if the appeal was to be allowed, Sarri wants Kovacic to stay in Chelsea.
He said: "You know very well that in this position we have problems because we only have Jorginho.
"In my opinion, Kovacic could become a very good central midfielder.Of course, he is not a defensive midfielder (for the moment) but, as you know, I prefer in this position a player very technical.
"In the last match, Jorginho hit 161 balls, so for us it is very important for us to have a high quality in this position.High quality not for the last pbad, but great quality for moving the ball."
Sarri was then asked if he wanted to reinforce this position this summer, before answering, "No, I want to try with Kovacic.
"Yes, Kovacic is only lent, of course. I would love Kovacic to stay with us. "
Stay up to date with the latest news, features and exclusives from football.londres via the free football.london application for iPhone and Android.
Available for download on the App Store and Google Play.
Source link
