Mateo Kovacic is reportedly set to complete a £30 million move to Manchester City from Chelsea.
According to Fabrizio Romano, City have agreed to pay Chelsea £25m ($32m) upfront for Kovacic and an extra £5m in add-ons, with the midfielder set to complete a medical at the Etihad Stadium later this week. The final £5m payment will only be activated if City hit their trophy targets and won’t be based on Kovacic’s performances for the club. Guardiola reportedly identified Kovacic as his primary summer target in a bid to further increase his depth in the middle of the park, having long been admirer of the former Real Madrid star.
Kovacic is one of several first-team players leaving Chelsea this summer as new boss Mauricio Pochettino seeks to trim the bloated squad he inherited from interim boss Frank Lampard. N’Golo Kante has already joined Al-Ittihad, with Hakim Ziyech, Kalidou Koulibaly and Edouard Mendy also set to complete moves to Saudi Arabia in the coming weeks.
