Man City near €40m signing of Chelsea star as Pochettino's rebuild begins

James Shearman

• Updated: 16 Jun 2023 19:47 BST
• 3 min read

Chelsea midfielder Mateo Kovacic is nearing a move to Manchester City, according to several reports.

Fabrizio Romano is among those to have confirmed an agreement between Kovacic and City over personal terms.

While Felix Johnston and James Olley have both reported that the two clubs have agreed a €40 million fee.

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Kovacic could well be a replacement for Ilkay Gundogan, who looks likely to leave City on a free transfer at the end of the month.

His departure will start new head coach Mauricio Pochettino's rebuild at Stamford Bridge.

There are many experienced players, such as Kovacic, Hakim Ziyech and N'Golo Kante, set to leave, with more chances to be offered to promising young players.

Kovacic to Man City a mistake for Chelsea?

Chelsea have typically sold players to Premier League rivals at the right time.

Nemanja Matic to Man Utd, David Luiz and Jorginho to Arsenal are prime examples of the Blues letting go of players that were on the decline.

But the same can't be said for 29-year-old Kovacic should he leave this summer.

The Croat was excellent under former managers Frank Lampard and Thomas Tuchel prior to this season.

Some would suggest that he is no longer the same player after a poor campaign but it is far more likely that he just had an off year - Guardiola certainly thinks so.

And selling Kovacic would mean having to spend on an adequate replacement, as well as the two midfielders that the Blues already plan to bring in - one of which being Moises Caicedo.