Croatian news outlet Vecernji List and the Daily Star have today reported that Mateo Kovacic and Liverpool have come to an agreement over personal terms ahead of concluding a deal for the midfielder.
Rumours of the potential deal between the 21-year-old and Liverpool began to pick up momentum at the beginning of this week when Lovren posted a photo of him and his fellow Croatian on Instagram.
Since, contrasting gossip has emerged regarding an official Liverpool bid, with parts of the media reporting that Internazionale have accepted £15 millon for the Croatian international, and others suggesting that the Italians are waiting for the Reds to up their offer to one of around £18 million.
Vercernji List, however, understand that Inter are not in a hurry to sell one of their star players. They are well aware of the money Brendan Rodgers spent last summer and with £25 million spent on Dejan Lovren, they believe that they can hold out for a bigger fee for Kovacic, especially with the Merseysiders keen to replace the LA Galaxy-bound Steven Gerrard as perfectly as possible.
Kovacic has 19 caps for his country and has played 97 games for Inter since joining from Dinamo Zagreb in 2013. He hasn't won any honours with the Italian club, but was part of the Zagreb side that won the league and cup double in both the 2010-11 and 2011-12 seasons. He was also named Croatian Football Hope of the Year in 2011.
This season, Kovacic made 35 appearances in Serie A, starting 26 games, scoring five goals and creating three in a campaign during which he was certainly his side's stand out performer as they finished eighth in the league.