Man City agree fee with Chelsea for Croatia midfielder Mateo Kovacic

The 29-year-old will strengthen Pep Guardiola’s midfield after the Cityzens won the treble

Richard Jolly
Northern Football Correspondent
Wednesday 21 June 2023 08:01 EDT
Comments
Mateo Kovacic has less than 18 months to run on his current Chelsea contract (Zac Goodwin/PA)
Mateo Kovacic has less than 18 months to run on his current Chelsea contract (Zac Goodwin/PA) (PA Wire)

Your support helps us to tell the story

From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.

At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.

The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.

Your support makes all the difference.

Manchester City have agreed an initial £25 million fee with Chelsea for midfielder Mateo Kovacic.

The Croatia international, who could cost £30m if add-ons are met, is set to become City’s first summer signing as Pep Guardiola looks to strengthen his treble-winning squad.

The former Real Madrid midfielder is set to join the exodus from Chelsea as they overhaul their squad for new manager Mauricio Pochettino after a season of signings.

N’Golo Kante has already completed a move to Saudi Arabia, while Edouard Mendy, Kalidou Koulibaly and Hakim Ziyech could join him there. Romelu Lukaku and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang are expected to leave while Mason Mount has attracted an offer from Manchester United and Levi Colwill a bid from Brighton.

Christian Pulisic and Ruben Loftus-Cheek are other possible departures, though Conor Gallagher has said he wants to stay at Stamford Bridge.

Kovacic has scored six goals in 221 games in five seasons for Chelsea after joining from Real, initially on loan, in 2018.

The 29-year-old will sign for City as they wait to find out if they are losing captain Ilkay Gundogan, who is out of contract and a target for Arsenal and Barcelona.

There is interest in fellow midfielder Bernardo Silva but Kalvin Phillips has said his intention is to remain at the Etihad Stadium, despite a difficult first season for City.

Join our commenting forum

Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies

Comments

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in