Man City's summer pursuit of Mateo Kovacic 'enters its final stages'

Manchester City are reported to be close to completing a £34m swoop for Chelsea midfielder Mateo Kovacic.

The deal - that would see the Croatian international join the newly crowned European champions - is said to be in its final stages according to ESPN. However issues surrounding Chelsea’s precarious Financial Fair Play position have caused a minor delay.

After spending nearly £600m in Todd Boehly’s first year at the club, Chelsea are keen to recoup a sizeable up-front fee for their wantaway star, but are under pressure to complete a deal before June 30 when any outgoings will be counted against the 2022-23 season’s expenditure.

As a result, the outlet report that the transfer is expected to be completed within a fortnight as personal terms are already believed to have been agreed between Kovacic and City.

The 29-year-old’s departure will bring his five-year spell at Stamford Bridge to an abrupt end, having initially joined on-loan from Real Madrid.

During his time with the club, Kovacic has added a fourth Champions League trophy to the three he won in Madrid, as well as the Europa League in 2019. He has turned out 221 times for the Blues, scoring on six occasions and providing 15 assists.

He will join N’Golo Kante in leaving the west London club as the French international closes in on a lucrative deal to join Saudi Arabian outfit Al-Ittihad.

Kovacic, who is a key member of the Croatian squad bidding to secure Nations League glory against Spain on Sunday, is likely to replace City captain Ilkay Gundogan, who is expected to leave the Etihad this summer.

The German international’s City contract expires this summer and - following an outstanding season with the Citizens - is being pursued by Arsenal, Barcelona and City. Though Kovacic’s signing would imply the treble winners are resigned to losing him this summer.