Paul Dickov has showered Manchester City midfielder Mateo Kovacic with praise for his bright start to life at the Etihad Stadium.
On the official Manchester City podcast, the pundit was quizzed about his thoughts on how Kovacic has fared so far.
Hailed as an “exceptional player” by Pep Guardiola himself, the £150,000-a-week (Sport Rac) man has largely impressed in sky blue.
Paul Dickov raves about how “fantastic” Mateo Kovacic has settled in at Manchester City
With a recent revelation emerging that the 29-year-old is set to be ruled out due to injury for the next two to three weeks, the Croatian international’s absence could be felt by the treble-winners.
Especially considering that the Sky Blues are set to face the likes of Liverpool, RB Leipzig, Tottenham Hotspur and Aston Villa during this period.
But so far, Paul Dickov believes that Mateo Kovacic has taken to Manchester City like a duck to water.
“I think he’s been fantastic. What I said at the start about integrating in the changing room, it looks as if he’s been here [for a long time] when historically, it takes players a little time to settle under Pep [Guardiola]. But pre-season games and in the first few games before he picked up his little injury, it looked as if he’d been here for three or four years.”
“That’s high praise because we’ve seen other players say it, it’s took them time to adjust here. But he comes in and looks as if he’s been here for years”, he told the official Manchester City podcast.
The best of Mateo Kovacic is yet to come in sky blue
While there is no disagreeing with Paul Dickov, one gets the sense that the best of Mateo Kovacic is yet to be fully unleashed at Manchester City.
That is simply down to his injury woes and the fact that his spell at the club has only just started.
Considering Pep Guardiola’s tendency to reprogram new signings into the most complete versions of themselves, the decorated midfielder could also hit new heights as time passes.
Especially in the final third, if Kovacic improves his final ball and develops a sense of sniffing out chances in and around the box, it would become virtually impossible to contain him.
