The Chelsea midfielder has enjoyed an excellent season at Stamford Bridge under Frank Lampard, with the Croatian proving to be one of the Blues’ key players in their push for Champions League football
Last season under Maurizio Sarri, Mateo Kovacic was presented as a relatively beige footballer. The Croatian was regularly subbed on or off for Ross Barkley after 60 minutes, and didn’t appear to have any notable unique traits beyond skills that are widely considered as normal. This season, however, he appears reborn under Frank Lampard.
The current Chelsea boss seems to have provided the 25 year-old with a platform from which to perform and showcase his natural game.
All players are different. Lampard, for example, was a goal-scoring central midfielder, whereas Claude Makelele’s game was largely dedicated to defensive happenings.
Kovacic, according to the underlying numbers beneath the surface, shows up as a highly capable ball-carrier in the centre of the park.
Generally, central midfielders tend to refrain from dribbling, and the carrying is executed by players out wide. The Croatian international, by contrast, appears comfortable doing both after being given the license to do so by Lampard.
Over 200 central midfielders have accumulated over 1,000 minutes in Europe’s top five leagues this season, with Kovacic showing up impressively for dribbles completed combined with progressive carries per 90, shown below.
There are various recognised names captured in the graphic, with Italy’s Serie A in particular proving to be a relatively easy league for ball carriers to demonstrate their skills.
So how does Kovacic compare once filtering out players that feature outside the Premier League? Let’s take a look.