Mateo Kovacic: Chelsea’s misunderstood midfielder without a place

Chelsea’s on loan Mateo Kovacic is a hard player to pin down. He has no clearly defined role which leads to his talent being misunderstood.

Mateo Kovacic exists in a strange atmosphere. He was almost certainly brought in to grease the wheel on the Thibaut Courtois transfer and potentially a future Eden Hazard transfer. Seemingly, he was to play on the left side of midfield in the “Marek Hamsik” role Maurizio Sarri used at Napoli.

And at first, that is where he played nearly exclusively. But as Chelsea adapted to Sarri, Kovacic played more and more similarly to Allan’s role from Napoli. And after Cesc Fabregas left, Kovacic was made into Jorginho’s deputy for the regista role. Furthermore, as the transfer ban news came down and Ruben Loftus-Cheek and Ross Barkley improved, Kovacic found himself as the jack of all trades deputy to everyone.

Some do not want Kovacic to return if the ban goes away and others only want him back if the price is right. Sarri falls into the latter based on recent comments. But it remains hard to pin down exactly how and where Kovacic fits into any team (be it Chelsea, Real Madrid, or Croatia). Kovacic is misunderstood due to this mystery.

Kovacic’s main role now seems to be in rotation with Jorginho. He does have the ability to make short and quick passes at the base of the midfield. But he also has a habit of wanting to dribble his way out of problems (which in fairness, he is good at) but that is not what Sarri wants to see.

If he plays the Hamsik role as he was likely brought in to do, he can use that same passing ability and dribbling talent as he moves between lines. The major issue with that is twofold however. First, he has absolutely no final pass or shot to speak of. Second, he likes to drop deep to help progression which goes against the purpose of the role he is playing.

Seemingly, the box to box role would therefore be the ideal, but he is somehow both too conservative and too aggressive for it. For every good thing he can do, there is a but that makes the role incompatible.

Croatia has the same problem with him. In their 4-2-3-1, is he best used to hold the midfield pivot or to push up? Croatia’s Zlatko Dalic has found no clearer answer than Sarri has nor any of the Real Madrid managers Kovacic has played under.

Perhaps the secret is that Kovacic will need a very specific set up to show his true talent under. A midfield three is almost a must for him but rather than giving him a specific role, he should be a link of sorts. Kovacic’s true potential may be realized when he is surrounded by one far more defensive midfielder and one far more offensive midfielder.

At Chelsea, that could mean linking up with N’Golo Kante deep and Ruben Loftus-Cheek up higher. The issue with that lies in the current set up with Sarri requiring Jorginho and requiring that third player to be central.

Sarri wants Kovacic to return but even if he can, he is unlikely to show his true role with Sarri. He does need to have a role similar to Jorginho’s but with the freedom to show up on either side with a true holding player protecting and helping him.

Until Kovacic can be offered that by a club, his role will remain undefined and his skill set underutilized. As a result, he will remain misunderstood as his potential goes untapped.