Chelsea regular agrees personal terms with Man City and fires ‘very bad’ parting shot at Blues
A Chelsea star has admitted he expects to leave the club this summer, and an agreement on personal terms with Man City has reportedly been struck.
Something of a firesale is expected at Stamford Bridge this summer, with the Blues required to sell well to conform with Financial Fair Play.
A raft of first-team stars including but not limited to Edouard Mendy, Mateo Kovacic, Ruben Loftus-Cheek, Mason Mount, Christian Pulisic, Hakim Ziyech and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang could all depart. The first major name to make way is N’Golo Kante who has agreed to join Saudi Arabian side, Al Ittihad.
Today’s update centres on Kovacic, who according to Fabrizio Romano, has struck an agreement on personal terms with Premier League champions Man City.
The 29-year-old Croatia international has just one year remaining on his Blues contract and per the Athletic, Chelsea granted Man City permission to speak with the player last week.
Pep Guardiola has long been an admirer of Kovacic and is understood to view him as an ideal replacement for Ilkay Gundogan.
City still retain hope their club captain will sign a contract extension at the Etihad. However, they’re only offering a one-year deal with a club option for a second. Gundogan is receiving guaranteed two-year offers from elsewhere.
The Evening Standard subsequently reported Chelsea and by extension new boss Mauricio Pochettino had given the greenlight for Kovacic to leave after five years in west London.
Per Romano, personal terms with Man City are now agreed how much the transfer will cost will be discussed after the Champions League final on Saturday night.
Furthermore, ahead of Croatia’s Nations League semi-final tie with the Netherlands on June 14, Kovacic has addressed his future and the links to Man City when speaking to the Croatian press.
Kovacic expects to leave after “very bad” Chelsea season
Via Sky Sports, Kovacic insisted everything points towards a parting of the ways with Chelsea after what he described as a “very bad” final season at Stamford Bridge.
The Blues finished trophyless, out of Europe for next season and sacked two permanent managers.
“I have one more year with Chelsea, this season was very bad,” said Kovacic.
“Everything is going towards the fact that after five good years I will change, but in football anything can happen. Right now, I’m focused on Croatia and the Nations League.”
On the subject of his potential next club Man City, Kovacic added: “Man City is a top team and deserves to be in the Champions League final. That’s what I have to say. The summer is long, we’ll see what happens.”
The Croatian concluded: “Chelsea is phenomenal for me. I love the city and the fans, they love me, I have wonderful memories of Chelsea. We’ll see what happens.”
With personal terms wrapped up, all that remains is for Man City and Chelsea to agree a fee and a medical be passed.
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