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The European champions have reportedly turned down a £68.5 million bid from Italian champions Juventus for 23-year-old Croatian midfielder Mateo Kovacic, with Zinedine Zidane believed to be the one who blocked the move.
According to Spanish newspaper AS, Juventus lodged the audacious £68.5 million two days ago which made Real Madrid president Florentino Perez consider selling Kovacic, but manager Zidane blocked the move entirely.
Zidane has moved away from Perez's infamous Galactico's policy in the transfer market, illustrated by the sale of James Rodriguez and more importantly with the arrivals of Theo Hernández and Dani Ceballos, who arrived from Atletico Madrid and Real Betis respectively.
The French manager is clearly focusing on integrating youth players in the squad to ensure Real sustain their dominance for years to come. The rapid rise of Marco Asensio and Raphael Varane is a huge indication of that.
It was then no surprise that Zidane himself was the one who blocked Kovacic's move to Juventus. The 23-year-old has been making steady progress since his move from Inter Milan two years ago. The midfielder played 39 games last season, scoring two goals and winning the Spanish League and the Champions League in the process.Â
Juventus are expected to stop their pursuit of Kovacic, especially after completing the signing of Blaise Matuidi from PSG.
He has also started this season brightly, starring in Real Madrid's 5-1 aggregate win over Barcelona in the Spanish Super Cup. His performance was praised by Zidane following the first leg at Camp Nou and he was given a thunderous reception when he was substituted in the return leg at the Bernabeu.
Written by Sharhind Singh
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