Mateo Kovacic

Kovacic escapes pressure using close control rather than a quick pass, dropping a shoulder or rolling his foot over the ball to buy half a second most midfielders never get. That half second is usually enough to find a teammate or advance the ball thirty yards through territory an opponent expected to win back. He rarely plays the spectacular pass, preferring the sure one, which keeps City's possession moving even when a game slows into a stalemate.

The argument against him is that carrying the ball is not the same as creating a chance at the end of it, and City already have players whose job is the final pass. His value shows up in what does not happen, the turnovers prevented rather than the goals created. Watch how often a City move restarts through him after another player has run into a dead end.