Why Chelsea risk losing Kovacic to Man City

Suraj Radia

• 28 Feb 2023 20:28 GMT
• 2 min read

Chelsea could lose midfielder Mateo Kovacic, with Manchester City reportedly looking to take advantage of the Croatian’s uncertain future with the Blues ahead of a potential summer move.

Kovacic is into the final 18 months of his contract at Stamford Bridge and the club have yet to come to a conclusion on the 28-year-old’s future, with a host of players also set to have their deals expire next summer.

City have outlined Dortmund’s Jude Bellingham as their ideal midfield target but, with the likes of Ilkay Gundogan and Bernardo Silva potentially set to leave this summer, the club may target multiple players, with Kovacic being a long-term target of Pep Guardiola.

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Christian Pulisic, Mason Mount and Ruben Loftus-Cheek, like Kovacic, will also see their deals expire in 2024 and Chelsea are determined to avoid another scenario with key players having under a year remaining on their contracts.

Chelsea’s new owners bought the club last summer and were forced to confront a situation where the likes of N’Golo Kante and Thiago Silva were into the last year of their contracts, while Jorginho was sold in January with his deal expiring at the end of this season.

Silva has signed a new deal and Kante is close to agreeing an extension too, meaning the attention will now be focused on making a decision on Kovacic and the other upcoming renewals.

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Chelsea have so far failed to agree terms on a new deal for Mount and the academy graduate could be reluctantly sold this summer if talks continue to stall, with City, Liverpool and Manchester United all monitoring the situation.

Loftus-Cheek and Pulisic have struggled with fitness and form and both players could also be moved on, although the club could also look to agree team-friendly deals for the pair.

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Kovacic has made just eight starts in the Premier League this season due to injuries, however the Croatian has long been admired by Guardiola and a transfer to City could see the player hold off renewing with Chelsea.

The Blues are also looking at their players with deals expiring in 2025, such as Kai Havertz, Ben Chilwell and Hakim Ziyech set to have their futures assessed in the summer.