Barcelona, Liverpool in talks with Inter over Mateo Kovacic

There have been a lot of rumors swirling around Mateo Kovacic and his future at Inter Milan lately.

Some outlets, such as Forza Italian Football, have reported that Inter and Barcelona met this past Wednesday to discuss Kovacic's possible move there to replace Xavi, who is expected to leave once his contract is up this summer. Barca are currently under a transfer ban which was imposed by FIFA but are very interested in Kova. It should be noted that this is not the first time Barca have shown interest in the young Croatian - as Inter turned down a €15 million bid for Kova from the Blaugranes last summer.

Word on the street from England is that Liverpool have also shown interest in Kovacic, but that the Reds' initial offer (a reported measly €7.5 million) was laughably low. Liverpool boss Brendan Rodgers is said to think that Kovacic could be a good replacement for departing skipper Stephen Gerrard.

It has been reported that Inter value Kovacic somewhere in the €22.5 million - €30 million range, so it would seemingly take a much larger offer by either of the two aforementioned clubs to steal away the young starlet form the Nerazzurri.

Still, we cannot think that a Kovacic transfer is outside the realm of possibility. Inter manager Roberto Mancini will need money from somewhere to finance the big moves he wants to make this summer. If Shaqiri is indeed here to stay, Kova may be on his way out the door soon to make way for other new talent.