Real Madrid have confirmed several offers arrived for midfielder Mateo Kovacic during the summer but deny they're looking to sell the Croatia international in January.

Club director Angel Sanchez spoke to Sportske Novosti (h/t Football Italia) regarding persistent rumours involving the former Inter Milan man, and he made it clear Kovacic will not be sold.

He also denied reports one of the offers came from Serie A giants AC Milan:

“He is not for sale and we will not sell.

“If an offer were to come in during January, we would reject it out of hand. It's true that we received several offers over the summer for Kovacic, but none of them were from Milan.

“He is an intelligent lad and he knows perfectly well that he'd be a regular starter in any of the clubs who asked after him, but he is just as sure that we're focusing on him for the immediate future."

The 23-year-old made a shock move to the Spanish capital in 2015 after a difficult spell with Inter, and many wondered why Los Blancos believed he had any chance of breaking into the team.

Kovacic had flashed tons of talent in Italy but struggled with consistency, and he needed time to find his footing in Madrid. He enjoyed a solid 2016-17 campaign, however, earning more playing time as the season went on and impressing whenever he got the chance.

He was a regular part of the rotation at the start of this season, with starts in the Spanish Super Cup and appearances in the UEFA Champions League and La Liga until he suffered a serious injury in September, per Goal's Patrick Gleeson.

He's been sidelined since, although he's close to returning―Kovacic recently took to Twitter to announce he's training once again:

But speculation started to surface during his absence, as Real dealt with his injury and found other contributors. The regular midfield trio of Casemiro, Toni Kroos and Luka Modric has been a mainstay, Isco and Marco Asensio have become stars just ahead of them on the pitch and Dani Ceballos has also flashed his talent in limited minutes.

Ceballos and Kovacic were expected to be competitors for playing time this season, and while the Croat is ahead in his development, he'll need time to regain his form and get back to his best.

Real's poor start to the season―Los Blancos already trail Barcelona by eight points in La Liga―could see manager Zinedine Zidane dip into the transfer market in January, and that would require the side to clear out space in the first team.

Central midfield is an area of strength―it's not out of the question to believe the La Liga champions could sacrifice one of their options there for another striker or depth in defence.

Kovacic's remarkable talent means he's unlikely to leave Madrid on a permanent basis anytime soon, but perhaps a loan move back to Italy wouldn't be a bad idea.

The likes of Milan need help in midfield, and Kovacic needs regular minutes to get back on track.