Fabrizio Romano has just Tweeted that Manchester City have agreed personal terms with Mateo Kovacic.
The Croatian has been heavily linked with a move to the champions for some weeks as they look to replace the potentially outbound Ilkay Gundogan.
The Tweet says that Kovacic “wants the move” and now has secured the terms of a potential contract with City. Now it comes to the negotiations between Chelsea and Pep Guardiola’s team. These won’t take place until after the Champions League final this weekend, but shouldn’t take long.
Kovacic only has one year left on his contract so Chelsea know there’s a hard ceiling to what they can ask. Meanwhile City know they want the player and they are never afraid to pay the fee necessary to get a quick deal done. They know the value of having your squad sorted early in the summer.
EXCL: Mateo Kovacić has now agreed personal terms with Manchester City after advanced talks already revealed last week 🚨🔵🇭🇷 #MCFC
Kovacić wants the move, next step has to be between clubs as Chelsea and City will discuss fee after the UCL final.
Chelsea, open to sell Kovacić. pic.twitter.com/PKdCHsEL9B
— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) June 8, 2023
Plenty of fans will be disappointed to see Kova go – he’s certainly capable of brilliant moments. But has he ever really taken games by the scruff of the neck, let alone whole seasons? Not really, and Todd Boehly and co. will be looking for someone who does.
We know we’re going to see him lifting the Premier League trophy in a year’s time and there will be fans saying “why did we sell him for £40m,” but that’s just how it works – he’s never going to reach a new level playing in this Chelsea team.
