KOVACIC

“LAMPARD IS VERY SIMILAR TO ZIDANE – NOW I’M PLAYING THE BEST FOOTBALL OF MY CAREER”

Finally, it feels like we’re seeing the real Mateo Kovacic. If his first season at Stamford Bridge struggled to get out of second gear, things have changed for the 25-year-old since he made his loan move from Real Madrid permanent for £40 million last summer. Now he is one of the key figures in Frank Lampard’s young Chelsea side, which is performing above expectations in 2019-20 and in contention for a Champions League finish, despite the Blues’ debilitating transfer ban.

The impression is that Kovacic is fulfilling potential that seemed obvious for so long. Inter spotted it when they spent €11m on the then-18-year-old from Dinamo Zagreb in 2013; as did Real Madrid, who coughed up almost three times as much for his services a mere year and a half later, after a helpful call from Luka Modric.

However, although he won the Champions League three times and La Liga once in his three seasons with Los Blancos, Kovacic was not where he wanted to be for the biggest moments. So in the summer of 2018, after helping Croatia reach the World Cup final in Russia, he resolved that the time was right for change in west London.

Kovacic generally stays far from journalists’ microphones questions about life at Stamford Bridge, the difficulties of breaking into Zinedine Zidane’s Champions League-hoovering side in Madrid, why Frank really is super, and much more...