Chelsea are about to sell Mateo Kovacic, a Champions League winner, to Manchester City for £25m.
That’s according to Fabrizio Romano, who confirmed this morning that the transfer is set to happen.
It will leave Chelsea very short in central midfield, and will likely accelerate our move for Moises Caicedo, a relatively unproven Brighton player, who we will have to pay close to or more than £100m for.
It doesn’t sound like a great exchange on our part. So why does Liam Twomey of the Athletic think it “will be viewed internally as a win” by those making the decisions on the comings and goings at the club?
Well it’s all about context. Kovacic only has a year left on his contract, so getting any fee for him at all is a positive. Plus that £25m can apparently easily become £30m if City achieve their objectives – which they tend to. He’s also 29 and had a disappointing year at Chelsea. This way we can upgrade and get some money back for a player who is heading towards 30 and struggled to impress for extended periods anyway.
If we then sign up Caicedo on an 8 year deal or something crazy and he turns out to be the new N’Golo Kante, we can see how this whole thing ends up being a major success. That is a big ask however, and we’re a long way away from that stage still.
There is no comparison.
Kovacic is a lightweight.
Whay we have needed for years is a powerful , defensive midfielder. Caceido / Rice fill this bill