Ivan Rakitic

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Drifter

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There have been numerous rumours over the last few months that both Alex Ferguson and Harry Redknapp have been trying to persuade the Croatian star Ivan Rakitic to move to Spurs or Man Utd when his contract runs out this summer.

He currently plays for Schalke04 in the Bundesliga and is now free to discuss personal terms with any clubs outside Germany, and his agent Michael Urscheler was asked by Sport if either Old Trafford or White Hart Lane were likely destinations for the Croatian international playmaker.


Urscheler said: “There is truth in the clubs mentioned. Ivan is coming to end of his contract at Shalke, and the club are currently a Champions League club. So if Ivan changes his club now it must be for a club that can match his ambitions.”

“He is satisfied with his club at the moment. He is playing Champions League, but he will be a free agent in the summer. So he must make a decision and we are open to offers……”

“…….There are not many top clubs who have not had an eye on Ivan. If a club is professional and they have a good Chief Scout they have to know about him. He is 22-years-old, has played over 100 games in the Bundesliga, is an international for Croatia, and he plays in the Champions League. He is a top player and a top boy.

“Tottenham have some good players, as do the other clubs mentioned, but it depends on the needs of the manager. I don’t know currently what Sir Alex Ferguson thinks about Rakitic, but it is sure that he knows him, but we will see.

“But at this time I cannot tell you anything concrete. The situation is that Ivan is focused on his club and he wants to be a professional and focus on his club. We will make a decision in the coming months after assessing his options.”

In typical agentspeak Urscheler doesn’t give anything away, but the young Croatian will be a god adition to ant Premiership side, especially if he could sign for free!
 
Never thought that much of him, despite lots of hype.
 
Tottenham bound apparently, either this month or in the Summer so I've heard.
 
both he and ozil broke through the first team at schalke at around the same time. while ozil has gone on and achieve a lot, rakitic's development has relatively stalled.

his style of play reminds me of niko kranjcar, which, in fairness, is not very complimentary.
 
Sarni said:
Tottenham bound apparently, either this month or in the Summer so I've heard.
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You can bet your house that Harry will be interested in a decent available player.
 
enghuei said:
both he and ozil broke through the first team at schalke at around the same time. while ozil has gone on and achieve a lot, rakitic's development has relatively stalled.

his style of play reminds me of niko kranjcar, which, in fairness, is not very complimentary.
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Özil was at Bremen, not Schalke.
 
Mitch Conor said:
Not entirely accurate.

Ozil started at Schalke, then signed for Bremen.
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I stand corrected. Break through as in started playing first team football he meant then. Schalke really has some bad management.

Don't really need Rakitic though. Isn't he playing pretty much the same way as Carrick? Not as good as passing but better at shooting.
 
Bit of a surprise to see how negative people was towards him only a couple of years ago. But even more of a surprise to see how little attention his performance the last year and a half has merit. After beeing one of three best midfielders in La Liga outside Barca and Real Madrid, Sevilla awarded him by announcing him captain. Rakitic seems to have grown further with task, and has been among the most dominant midfielders in La Liga so far this season.

Beeing a player with flair and technique (and a sweet right foot), he was initially considered an attacking midfielder and he still figure there occasionally, but it is probably Sevillas deployment of him as a central midfielder that has developed him into one of the influential figures in La Liga. It has developed his defensive contribution greatly (if you like statistic you could note that he average 2,6 tackles and 3,3 interceptions per game). Furthermore it puts him on the ball more - where a player with his passing ability should be! Barcelona aside, he is among the five players in the La Liga with most passes per game. He is also among the five players in La Liga (Barca and RM included) who have the most key passes per game.

For me, what really stands out with him beside a great right foot, is that he is a bit of a tradional box-to-box player. If this assesment is true, why is he at Sevilla? Probably because as an attacking midfielder he lacked a bit of edge compared to the players he would be competing with at the biggest clubs. But thats not a valid argument in the CM position.

I also suspect that if he wants to be a focal point and a "maestro", like he has for Sevilla, for a big four club, he needs to improve his passing slightly. On the other hand, the last argument might be a bit unfair, in my opinion only Carrick, Yaya, Gerrard and maybe a couple of players at Arsenal are better passers of the ball (but the rest are surprisingly mediocre). It is also difficult to judge how it could affect him beeing in a better team, surrounded by better players (it benefited for instance Arteta greatly).

His contract expires in a year and a half. It will be interesting to see if he is still on the radar to some of the bigger clubs in Europe. I'm surprised by the lack of attention he has been getting compared to for instance Ever Banega. For Man Utd he could have been, in addition to an alternative to Cleverley in 442, an AMC who actually contributes when defending (something we need to play a 433 effectively against the top teams in Europe). Is he good enough? I'm not sure, but someone should find out!
 
He's been quality. He's so versatile. Last year he played a lot in the hole, but in previous years he's played deeper too. I'd expect him to move soon.
 
Anyone saw him against Real Madrid on Wedensday? The best central midfielder on the pitch in my opinion.
 
A double raid of Seville over the summer to get Kondogbia and Rakitic was exactly what we needed.......Let's face it...Roma are not selling Pjanic in January now that they have a chance of winning Seria A this year......Rakitic may be available in January for big money but he has been appointed Seville captain this year so they probably won't sell in January either
 
He'll probably end up at Spurs.
 
Ringo 07 said:
A double raid of Seville over the summer to get Kondogbia and Rakitic was exactly what we needed.......Let's face it...Roma are not selling Pjanic in January now that they have a chance of winning Seria A this year......Rakitic may be available in January for big money but he has been appointed Seville captain this year so they probably won't sell in January either
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His contract expires in 2015. I think it will be possible to sign him in january.
 
Me and my mate were talking about him in the Madrid game and before that. He may be worth the gamble in January.
 
Sound like he was very influential today, too. Over both games he was the player with most touches and passes for Croatia - playing next to Luka Modric.
 
Ivan Rakitic so far this season in La Liga:
- 12 games, 7 goals, 3 assists
- 65 passes per game. Only beaten by Alves, Busquets, Xavi and Trashorras.
- 2,6 key passes per game (beaten by Trashorras).
- Gets fouled 2,3 times per game (the highest of the CM in La Liga).
- Dispossesed 0,8 per game. Composure on level with Carrick.
- Defensive contribution in numbers: 2,5 tackles and 2,7 interceptions per game. Only a couple of CM in La Liga beats him.

A true box-to-box midfielder. Available, and with several years ahead of him.
 
andersj said:
Ivan Rakitic so far this season in La Liga:
- 12 games, 7 goals, 3 assists
- 65 passes per game. Only beaten by Alves, Busquets, Xavi and Trashorras.
- 2,6 key passes per game (beaten by Trashorras).
- Gets fouled 2,3 times per game (the highest of the CM in La Liga).
- Dispossesed 0,8 per game. Composure on level with Carrick.
- Defensive contribution in numbers: 2,5 tackles and 2,7 interceptions per game. Only a couple of CM in La Liga beats him.

A true box-to-box midfielder. Available, and with several years ahead of him.
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We should sign Trashorras.
 
pocco said:
Really? A lot of people after the game seemed more interested in Kondogbia. I went to that game but wasn't over impressed by any of their players really. Januzaj was the most exciting talent on display that game.
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Kondogbia was very impressive winning the ball back but every single attack came from Rakitic either dropping deep and pinging the ball forward or with him in between the midfield and defence picking the ball up and then splitting the defence with a through ball. Unlike what Sean says, I think he could easily slide into the centre of a lot of top teams starting 11.
 
In the two legs against Iceland he certainly did not come off as a box-to-box midfielder. Modric was running the show so he was a bit of a second fiddle in that side. Taking all their set pieces. He was a bit like Carrick in those 2 games. Got a dangerous right foot and a nice eye for a pass but I don't think he's a good fit for United, based on how he was playing in those games. I've only seen a couple of Sevilla games at the beginning of the season so my opinion on him isn't based on his good form for the club.
 
Snow said:
In the two legs against Iceland he certainly did not come off as a box-to-box midfielder. Modric was running the show so he was a bit of a second fiddle in that side. Taking all their set pieces. He was a bit like Carrick in those 2 games. Got a dangerous right foot and a nice eye for a pass but I don't think he's a good fit for United, based on how he was playing in those games. I've only seen a couple of Sevilla games at the beginning of the season so my opinion on him isn't based on his good form for the club.
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In the first game Rakitic was actually more involved than Modric. I agree that he probably is more diciplined in the NT than for Sevilla.
 
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