ANALYSIS: Mateo Kovacic - an alternative viewpoint on where he might fit in at Manchester City
- William Russell
- Jun 28, 2023
- 6 min read
On June 27th, 2023, Manchester City signed Chelsea midfielder Mateo Kovacic, for a reported fee of £25 million, with a potential £5 million in add ons.
The 29 year old midfielder is City's first signing of what could be a very busy summer, as they are reported to have agreed personal terms with fellow Croatian Josko Gvardiol, and whilst they appear to be out the race for West Ham United and England central midfielder Declan Rice, City will surely be lining up another target.
As well as this, potential replacements for Riyad Mahrez and Kyle Walker for if they depart the club this summer, will be on the board's radar.
Club captain Ilkay Gundogan's free transfer move to Barcelona leaves a gaping hole in the centre of City's midfield, which Kovacic will be looking to try and fill.
But what if he doesn't play in central midfield at all?
Kovacic is a very tidy player; he can carry the ball into space and get his team up the pitch, whilst also maintaining the ability to wriggle out of tight spaces under immense pressure.
But, his weakness - that saw many Chelsea fans happy to see leave the club - was his lack of end product, in terms of goals and assists, during his time at the club.
Now, this doesn't much sound like the skillset of City's starting number 8's from last season Kevin de Bruyne and Ilkay Gundogan, nor does it match the profile of holding midfielders Rodri and Kalvin Phillips.
The players that Kovacic reminds me most of are... Jack Grealish and Bernardo Silva, who primarily operated as wingers last season.
The excellent close control, the silky, mesmerising dribbling, combined with a surprisingly short number of goals and assists, are features of Kovacic, Grealish and Bernardo's playing style.
As Guardiola likes inverted wingers - and with Phil Foden rumoured to play more in centre midfield next season - we could see Mateo Kovacic operate as cover for Jack Grealish next season.
Here is analysis on Kovacic's gam:, his strengths and weaknesses, and why that may make him a suitable candidate to play as a winger for City:
Dribbling and ball retention
Like Grealish and Bernardo, Kovacic's first thought when he gets the ball is to carry it into space, before looking for a pass to a teammate.
This makes him fairly unique in the squad, as the vast majority of other players tend to play 2 touch in most cases, seeing the ball zip around the pitch at a quicker pace.
But having a player like Kovacic helps to add more control, as he takes more time with the ball, and there's always the chance of him breaking the lines and driving into space.
As you can see from the image above, former City target Marc Cucurella is in the process of fizzing the ball into Kovacic's feet. He's not completely surrounded, however, Aston Villa player Leon Bailey is triggering a press on the Croatian.
He took an - admittedly heavy - first touch to draw Bailey in, before turning sharply to escape him.
Just 4 seconds after the last picture, the 29 year old has glided with the ball into empty space, driven up the pitch and slid the ball into Kai Havertz on the left hand side, showing what his progressive dribbling adds to a side.
We'll see less of this if he plays in wide positions. However, Grealish and Bernardo are able to do this plenty of times when they start out wide, so playing Kovacic as a left winger won't completely suffocate this element of his skillset.
Progressive passing
Whilst some have seen this as a weakness in his game, there are plenty of examples of Kovacic's sublime passing ability, which helped Chelsea to break through the lines during his time at the club.
As shown in the picture above, Kovacic receives the ball in his own third from Antonio Rudiger, and turns 180 degrees to face Liverpool's goal. Striker Sadio Mane is cutting off the sideways passing lane to N'Golo Kante...
... but the Frenchman escapes into space, and Kovacic is able to slide the ball past Mane and Naby Keita and into Kante's feet, who proceeded to win a foul.
In this passage of play, Kovacic and Kante were playing in similar positions to Rodri and John Stones during the second half of last season, positioned as a double pivot to try and find a way to break Liverpool's press.
So there's another position that the versatile Kovacic could line up in: either as a single or double pivot.
His ability to know exactly when to play the pass to a teammate - paired with an excellent understanding of when to take a risk and when not to - will make him invaluable to Guardiola's build up, no matter what position he plays in.
Low goal/assist output
There is no denying that this is a concern for Kovacic, particularly in his last season at Chelsea.
With just 2 goals and 2 assists in all competitions, it is certainly an aspect of his game he needs to improve, particularly considering he was often given more license to attack than other members of Chelsea's midfield, such as Kante and Enzo Fernandez.
But, whilst his record shows that he's most certainly not a goal scoring midfielder, he has shown what he's about from a creative point of view in previous seasons.
The image above comes from the 2021/22 season, where Kovacic got 6 assists in all competitions.
Chelsea striker Romelu Lukaku has Aston Villa's defence on the back foot in this picture, meaning there is an overload on the left hand side, as Kovacic charges forward to support the counter attack.
Lukaku's pass could be better, meaning Kovacic has to adjust and nip in front of the Villa defender, who was covering Callum Hudson-Odoi on the left hand side. This means the Englishman is now in a lot of space (as indicated by the rectangle) which Kovacic will be looking to exploit (the arrow indicates his movement.)
Kovacic takes the ball away from Douglas Luiz and, with a shot remaining a possibility, he opts to slide the ball to the open Hudson-Odoi instead (with the ball travelling along the arrow...)
... but Hudson-Odoi's shot is disappointing and saved down low by Emiliano Martinez for Aston Villa.
This should've been an assist for Kovacic, but, by no fault of his own, it won't go down as a recorded statistic.
Jack Grealish has also experienced this pain. In his first season at the club, the 27 year old got the second highest expected assists (xA) number in the Premier League, just behind his teammate - and the benchmark for such stats - Kevin de Bruyne.
Poor finishing from teammates denied Grealish a higher number of assists than his creative play deserved, but the vast majority of people didn't recognise this, and instead criticised City's record signing for his poor output.
The cases of Grealish and Kovacic aren't identical of course, given the two players have played in separate positions for their clubs.
However, considering Chelsea's fortunes last season, and their struggles in scoring goals, it's natural for a player to have lower goals and assists with the circumstances.
How he might fit in as a left winger
Kovacic would be a good fit for City as a winger, as he knows exactly when to slow the game down and speed it up.
Like Bernardo and Grealish, he is press resistant, difficult to dispossess, and an overall silky dribbler. He has never played out wide before, but, under the coaching of Pep Guardiola, it is something that'd definitely be achievable for him.
Kovacic has experience on the highest stage, having won 4 UEFA Champions League titles, during his time with Real Madrid and Chelsea. He's worked under coaches such as Zinedine Zidane, Thomas Tuchel and Roberto Mancini, but Guardiola will add a whole new element to his game.
Goals and assists will not be a big concern for him. Last season, Jack Grealish got just 5 goals and 11 assists in 50 appearances last season, whilst Bernardo Silva got 7 goals and 8 assists in 55 appearances across the season.
Whilst Phil Foden and Riyad Mahrez did contribute significantly more to goals, they were both left out of the starting 11 for the FA Cup and Champions League finals, showing Guardiola prioritised the other qualities held by Grealish, Bernardo and Kovacic.
Whilst he'd likely act as backup for the more natural wingers in Grealish, and probably Foden, on the left wing, Kovacic's arrival as an extra option who can play on the wing could make way for the departure of Cole Palmer on loan, with the 21 year old struggling for playing time last season.
Whilst he is not as good a player as Ilkay Gundogan, Kovacic is still one of the best central midfielders in the Premier League. He's versatile, skilful, adaptable and a good leader, qualities all held in high esteem by City's hierarchy.
My personal opinion is that City have got the 29 year old for an absolute bargain, especially considering the amount of money local rivals Manchester United could be about to pay for Mason Mount, who, with just 1 year left on his contract, fins himself in the same situation Kovacic was in.
He might never be a nailed on starter for the Blues, particularly if they do seal the signing of a new midfielder to start alongside De Bruyne and Rodri in central midfield, and Jack Grealish continues his form on the left wing, but he'll undeniably play a huge role in the squad during next season and beyond.
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