Shaun Goater has lavished praise on to Mateo Kovacic, who started once again for Manchester City in their 2-1 win against Bayern Munich.
Speaking on the Sky Blues’ official YouTube channel before the contest, he was quizzed about whether the £25 million (Sky Sports) man would suit playing in a more advanced role in midfield.
Before Manchester City faced off against Bayern Munich, Shaun Goater admitted that he would be interesting to see how Mateo Kovacic fares in such a position.
Shaun Goater raves about Mateo Kovacic as Manchester City beat Bayern Munich
Pep Guardiola is clearly a massive admirer of the Croatian international, branding him as an ‘exceptional player’ after his debut for the club against Yokohama F.Marinos.
Against the German giants, the 29-year-old operated in a much more withdrawn role as a holding midfielder in place of Kalvin Phillips, and looked the part.
Shaun Goater first responded to the claim about how Mateo Kovacic would perform if played further forward before Manchester City got another victory under their belt against Bayern, while also lauding him.
“It’s interesting. Pep [Guardiola] sees things none of us see, in terms of him playing a little bit further forward. I’m intrigued because if he plays him further forward, when I look back on in terms of what he did for Chelsea, he’s a total City player in terms of his technical ability.”
Shaun Goater elaborated by touching on how Manchester City new-boy Mateo Kovacic was deployed during his time at Chelsea in the build-up to the game against Bayern, saying, “But he didn’t produce a lot of goals because he was a holding midfielder. So, to move him further forward, as we know with Gundo or any of our midfielders, they chip in with the goals. So, it will be interesting to see that if he plays further forward, does he get his number of goals.”
“But he is a total Man City player, technically, his intelligence, he’s a top player. I’m intrigued to see if he does play further forward throughout the season, how he adjusts in terms of adding goals and assists to the other qualities that he has.”
Shaun Goater is spot on about the decorated technician, who was adept as a defensive midfielder against Bayern Munich and looks fully settled in a Manchester City shirt already.
