Reason why Real Madrid can't afford to lose Mateo Kovačić

Mateo Kovačić is not satisfied with his playing time at Real Madrid. In an interview for MARCA last month, Kovačić said that he believes that the best thing for him would be to go to another club where he will play regularly as a starter.

These words have sent many of Europe's top clubs into a scramble. Last summer, he was in a similar situation but Zidane convinced him to stay.

Mateo Kovačić came to Real Madrid in August 2015 from Inter Milan for €31m. He came to Madrid to be the successor to Luka Modrić. But Kovačić failed to establish himself in the starting lineup in three years under Zinedine Zidane.

The arrival of Dani Ceballos and the return of academy product Marcos Llorente has made the situation even more complicated for him.

This season Kovačić started only 21 games in all competitions. At the end of the season, Zidane surprisingly announced that he will no longer be Real Madrid's coach. Julen Lopetegui will replace him at the bench.

Lopetegui is known as a coach who tends to work with young players. The most interesting aspect of next season is going to be Real's midfield.

Lopetegui is a manager who prefers to play a midfield-heavy side. Real has one of the best midfield in the world and the playing time will be a lot more equal under Julen.

Julen Lopetegui is very midfield dominating orientated and he might be Real Madrid's Pep Guardiola

Julen Lopetegui must realize that Kovačić is one of the most exciting players in the world right now. He offers something that no one else in the team does. There are players ahead of him, but his role is pretty big for this team.

Kovačić is a versatile midfielder. At Inter, Kovačić played as a 10, but at Real Madrid he played in deeper positions.

Mateo doesn't have Luka's footballing brain but his biggest strength is moving the ball quickly from defense to attack.

Kovacic has a unique style of play. Kovačić's technical skill-set is perfectly suited for open space situations. His dribbling in open space situations is incredible.

His passing range is good, but still not at the same level of Toni Kroos and Luka Modrić.

He has shown excellent flexibility in defensive situations and because of that, Zidane chose him to man-mark Messi in the last few matches against Barcelona.

Kovacic - one for the immediate future

When Kovačić is playing, Real Madrid have that tireless player who creates chances and also gives defensive stability.

Definitely he lacks somewhat in the decision-making process, but with time he can improve in that aspect.

Kovačić's talent is not in doubt. He is one of the players Real should rely on for the future. He can be a starter for any big European club. Julen Lopetegui and Florentino Perez should never let Kovačić go because Modrić will be turning 33 soon.

Mateo is currently with his national team at the World Cup in Russia. Croatia will play against England in the semi-final on Wednesday. After the World Cup, Lopetegui's first job should be to convince Mateo to stay with Madrid.