Craig Burley has compared the potential signing of Mateo Kovacic at Manchester City to that of Manuel Akanji.
The outspoken pundit made this claim on ESPN UK after it was reported on Wednesday that Pep Guardiola’s men had sealed a move for the Chelsea technician for £30 million.
While many have given their views on whether Mateo Kovacic would succeed at Manchester City, Craig Burley has likened his imminent arrival to that of Manuel Akanji.
Craig Burley compares potential Mateo Kovacic to Manchester City transfer to Manuel Akanji coup
The Croatian international’s potential move to the Etihad Stadium has divided opinion, primarily due to his shoddy injury record.
In addition, many believe that as brilliant a player as the three-time Champions League winner is, he is not fit enough to lace the potentially Ilkay Gundogan’s boots.
However, Craig Burley disagrees, crediting Manchester City for having reportedly struck a deal to sign Mateo Kovacic, while finding similarities in his signing to that of Manuel Akanji.
“Everyone talks about Man City, big money, big spending. I think this is great business at that price. I think he’s a terrific player, he can do a bit of everything, doesn’t score a lot of goals but scores some great goals.”
Craig Burley explained why the signing of Mateo Kovacic would be extremely similar to Manuel Akanji last summer, saying, “Good passer, good vision, can defend, ticks a lot of boxes. And then you look at what they did last year. Again, a little bit under-the-radar, [Manuel] Akanji. Error-prone at Dortmund, good player. Comes in, has a great season.”
“But City saw something in him, ‘we like him, he’s big, he’s strong, he’s pacey, he’s good on the ball, we’ll bring him in, it’s not a lot of money.’ And he was terrific. Doing something similar with Kovacic, not a lot of money but clearly, [they] know the player, he has great experience, Croatian international, he’s already been at Madrid.”
The potential move to sign Mateo Kovacic is a cracking one
Craig Burley certainly makes an interesting comparison between Mateo Kovacic and Manuel Akanji, as both players, who were mooted to join Manchester City for relatively low fees saw that their stocks were not particularly high.
But in Kovacic’s case, he is a much superior player to the Swiss defender at Borussia Dortmund and similarly, he fits Pep Guardiola’s system, judging all his attributes.
With the fee in question alongside his pedigree for both club and country, Burley is right in pinpointing that this could be a bargain buy.
