Mateo Kovacic, 29, has joined Manchester City for a fee of £25 million from Chelsea, according to Fabrizio Romano. The midfielder’s move to Manchester City was reported on Wednesday morning as Pep Guardiola and the Blues complete their first signing of the summer following a historic treble winning last term.
Romano has outlined the specifics of the deal, which will see Man City give Chelsea a guaranteed £25 million, with the potential for an additional £5 million in bonuses. He has disclosed that these payments are dependent on the success of the team, not Kovacic.
Kovacic has been a Chelsea player since 2018 and has developed into one of the club’s most experienced leaders in the last five seasons at Stamford Bridge. The 29-year-old participated in 27 Premier League games for Chelsea last year, mostly as a substitute during a challenging campaign.
Last season, Kovacic played for three different Chelsea managers: Thomas Tuchel, Frank Lampard, and Graham Potter, each of whom took over the team at various times. However, the Croat must finally leave Chelsea after five years there because Pep Guardiola has made the seasoned midfielder his first signing of the summer.
Kovacic joins a team that has just finished celebrating its treble from the previous campaign, but if City’s past accomplishments are any indication, they won’t be slowing down anytime soon. This summer, City will pay Chelsea the relatively small sum of £25 million for a player who Guardiola has long admired.
According to reports, Guardiola tried to sign Kovacic in 2019 because he thought the Croatian can play anywhere in midfield, but he wasn’t successful at the time. As Ilkay Gundogan and Bernardo Silva leave the Etihad Stadium this year, Kovacic is the ideal replacement signing for Guardiola, who can easily integrate the versatile midfielder into his team.
He was a member of the Chelsea team that defeated City 1-0 in the Champions League final in 2021 and entered the game as a late substitute. Kovacic has played every game in 95 appearances for Croatia at the international level, helping them finish third at the 2022 World Cup.
As a result of Liverpool invoking Alexis Mac Allister’s release clause earlier this summer, the Seagulls are demanding a hefty fee for the Ecuadorian international, which opens the door for Chelsea to complete a move for Brighton midfielder Moises Caicedo.
