Manchester City, Chelsea agree £30m transfer for Mateo Kovačić — report

Mateo Kovačić looked set to join Manchester City since the end of the season, and that move is now set to go ahead, after the two teams agreed a £30m deal, according to a report from Fabrizio Romano.

The fee represents a slight improvement from the £25m that City had offered initially, and which Chelsea had rejected. Managing to squeeze £5m more out of their pockets may not sound like much, but it every million counts as we try to balance the books a bit this summer — and also trim the squad to a more manageable and forward-looking shape.

Kova’s Chelsea journey started back in the summer of 2018, when he came over on a season-long loan from Real Madrid. We then did a smart thing by triggering the buy-option in his loan, acquiring a world class midfielder during a transfer ban for just €45m.

The five years since had seen many highs, including two European trophies, and a few very deep lows, including all of last season. The 29-year-old played a key role throughout, with well over 200 appearances to his name.

Thanks and good luck at City (ed.note: but not too much good luck, not that they need luck)!