Mateo Kovacic completed a brilliant pre-season for Real Madrid and his two games against Barcelona in the Spanish Super Cup were just as brilliant, man-marking star Lionel Messi while also distributing the ball effectively. Now, Juventus have sent a €70 million offer for the Croatian midfielder only to see it rejected by Real Madrid, according to AS.

Kovacic, still 23 years old, appears to be the first man off the bench whenever a midfielder is needed. Not only can he replace Luka Modric and Toni Kroos , he also proved that he can play as a defensive midfielder in Casemiro’s spot as well, which makes Marcos Llorente somewhat expendable.

Real Madrid are planning to reject every offer they receive for Kovacic. Modric isn’t getting any younger and Kovacic will be expected to be a starter for Madrid very soon. He has improved quite a lot as a player and he will still be better when he gets more experience.