Chelsea star expected to join Man City as first summer signing

Manchester City are expected to complete their first transfer of the summer soon, as they close in on the signature of Mateo Kovacic.

ManchesterWorld understands the Chelsea midfielder has agreed personal terms with the treble-winning side and a deal could even be confirmed as early as next week if the clubs can finalise the finer details of the transfer.

Kovacic first held meetings with City executives in April and the former Real Madrid star has since finalised contract arrangements. Chelsea are willing to allow the player to leave given their need to sell this summer in order to bring in players, and the London club have been heavily linked with a move for Brighton & Hove Albion’s Moises Caicedo this week.

Kovacic has spent five years at Stamford Bridge and has played over 221 times for the club. With his contract up in June 2024 and the player turning 30 next year, the transfer fee is not expected to be significant. ESPN have reported that it could be around €40 m (£34.2m).

The Croatian international will add further options to Pep Guardiola’s midfield, with the City boss largely using Rodri, Ilkay Gundogan, Bernardo Silva and Kevin De Bruyne across the majority of the 2022/23 season, although those numbers were supplemented by the advancing John Stones from defence. Kalvin Phillips is also a midfield alternative for Guardiola, but the ex-Leeds United man started just two league matches last term.

Phillips has been linked with an exit from the Etihad this summer, while there is uncertainty surrounding the future of Gundogan still. The City captain’s contract expires at the end of the month and he is a target for Barcelona and Arsenal. Silva may also be off and the midfielder has attracted interest from Paris Saint-Germain and Barcelona, although a move to the latter is unlikely given his price tag.

The expected arrival of Kovacic will leave City in a better position to cover any departures, while it’s also been reported that the Blues will make a move for Declan Rice, with Arsenal also interested in the West Ham United captain.