Reports: Manchester United line up Real Madrid superstar as Michael Carrick replacement

What's the rumour?

As per the good folk over at the Mirror, Manchester United are lining up a move for Real Madrid midfielder Matteo Kovacic as the Croat continues to sit out the vast majority of games on the bench - his senior compatriot Luka Modric, Toni Kroos, and Casemiro all higher up in the pecking order than him.

This is seen by many, including the folk over at the Daily Star, as United moving to replace Michael Carrick; the veteran Englishman is set to retire at the end of the season and join Jose Mourinho's coaching staff.

In case you didn't know...

The 23-year old Croat joined Real Madrid from Inter Milan at the beginning of the 2015-16 season but has failed to nail down a starting XI slot in Los Blancos star-studded team. He had been a lynchpin of the Inter side before this move.

After an impressive start to the season this time around - with a stellar show in the Supercopa evisceration of Barcelona - he suffered a rupture of the patella which kept him out for more than two months. He has, of course, recovered now.

The heart of the matter

Michael Carrick has been setting the tempo of Manchester United teams for more than a decade now, and there has been no replacement in sight, with Paul Pogba, Ander Herrera, Nemanja Matic, et al being very different kind of footballers.

Kovacic is a deep-lying playmaker who is equally comfortable dribbling out of pressure as he is with getting a passing rhythm going and it's little wonder that he's been linked with United at this stage

Rumour reliability/ probability

4/10

The folk over at the Mirror themselves got this from Don Balon - thereby lowering the intrinsic value of the rumour.

Kovacic would, though, be eyeing a move to a top club where he can get regular starting berths; and with United looking for a midfield general to sit alongside Matic and free Pogba up, the rumour in itself cannot be dismissed out-of-hand

Video

Here's Kovacic doing his thing:

The lad can play, eh?

Author's take

Kovacic would be an excellent addition to any team, and United would be getting a brilliant midfielder just entering the peak of his powers if they do go ahead and make a bid for the Croat.