Mateo Kovacic has claimed that fellow Manchester City teammate, Josko Gvardiol, could dominate European football.
After securing a transfer deal for the midfielder worth £30m during the previous summer transfer window, the Manchester club then followed that up by signing his international teammate, Gvardiol, from RB Leipzig for £77m.
With the duo now in the midst of their debut season at the Etihad Stadium, Kovacic has spoken out about the 21-year-old and what the future could look like for him.
Kovacic back Gvardiol to ‘dominate’ European football
Speaking in a recent edition of the Official Man City Podcast (via Man City), Kovacic had this to say about Gvardiol.
“I have in mind one guy that is really good and can be Josko [who] is still young. I think he can really dominate in European football.
“He can take, especially in Croatia, centre backs to on another level, because we always were talented playing from the back but he has something special. How he comes into the middle, so I think he can be for Croatian people, the guy. Especially being a left footed, I think they’re always so special – left footed players.”
Prior to his move to the Etihad, Gvardiol caught a lot of attention during the previous World Cup in Qatar where he delivered a number of impressive performances to help Croatia get to the semi-finals of the tournament, which ultimately led to many pundits sharing a lot of praise for him.
With that in mind and the fact that he’s only 21, it’s easy to see why City were so keen to sign him and were willing to spend such a significant amount of money to do so.
So far this season, the defender has started 12 of the 13 games he has appeared in across all competitions.
Having racked up the third-highest combined total of tackles and interceptions (24) made in the Premier League this season at City, this highlights how much of a capable defender he is.
In terms of what Kovacic said about Gvardiol being able to travel with the ball up the field, the fact that Kyle Walker (30) is the only defender to make more progressive carries in the league at City this season shows how useful the Croatian can be in terms of not just being a capable defensive figure at the back.
