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Chelsea agree £30m deal to sell Mateo Kovacic to Manchester City as summer clear-out continues.
As the clear-out at Stamford Bridge continues, Chelsea and Manchester City have reached an agreement to sell Mateo Kovacic for £30 million.
Since a few weeks, the Premier League winners have been connected to Kovacic, and they have finally made progress with Chelsea.
Since joining Chelsea from Real Madrid in 2019, Kovacic has made more than 200 appearances, assisting the Blues in capturing the Champions League and Europa League.
Some people may be shocked by his departure from Stamford Bridge given that the 29-year-old was an essential part of the team last season, appearing in 37 games across all competitions.
However, Chelsea is trying to cut down a bloated squad after finishing just 12th in the Premier League last year by releasing a number of players.
The fact that Kovacic was reportedly eager to team up with Pep Guardiola at the Etihad Stadium may have also pressed Chelsea’s hand.
He thus reached a personal agreement with the holders of the Champions League earlier this month and will now go through a physical at City.
According to Fabrizio Romano, Manchester City will give Chelsea an upfront payment of £25 million for the Croatian international and a further $5 million in performance-based add-ons.
EXCL: Mateo Kovacić joins Manchester City from Chelsea, fee agreed and done deal — here we go! 🚨🔵 #MCFC
Agreement between clubs just reached for £30m fee.
Personal terms agreed two weeks ago, Kovacić only wanted Man City.
Medicals in the next days.
New midfielder for Pep 🇭🇷 pic.twitter.com/cXU7ZDSKMf
— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) June 21, 2023
Kovacic is one of several Chelsea players who will leave the club this summer, with N’Golo Kante joining Saudi Arabia champions Al Ittihad earlier this week.
Hakim Ziyech is apparently close to joining Al Nassr in Saudi Arabia, while Callum Hudson-Odoi and Edouard Mendy have been linked with similar transfers.