Mateo Kovacic close to joining Manchester City from Chelsea

Chelsea and Croatia midfielder Mateo Kovacic is close to leaving the Stamford Bridge club to join Premier League champions Manchester City this summer transfer window.

The Croatian midfielder has been with The Blues since 2019, featuring in 221 matches for the London-based club in all competitions, scoring six goals and providing 15 assists.

According to reports, the agreement between Kovacic and Manchester City is almost complete, with the Citizens set to be in contact soon with Chelsea to discuss the transfer fee.

Kovacic performed admirably for Chelsea this season, despite an underwhelming performance from the club, who ended the season trophyless and 12th on the Premier League table.

The 29-year-old joins Rodri, Kalvin Phillips, Kevin De Bruyne, Cole Palmer, Ilkay Gundogan and Bernardo Silva in the Citizens midfield.

However, City captain Gundogan, who is set to be out of contract at the end of June, is yet to renew and has been linked with a move to La Liga champions Barcelona this summer.

Portugal midfielder Bernardo Silva has also been heavily linked with a move away from Manchester since last summer, with Paris Saint-Germain said to be interested.

The signing of Kovacic could be the clearest indication of possible departures of experienced members of the Manchester City first team this transfer window.

The Etihad Stadium-based side is still in the race to win a treble this season and will face domestic rivals Manchester United in the FA Cup this Saturday at Wembley.

The Premier League champions will then head to the Atatürk Olympic Stadium in Turkey for the UEFA Champions League Final clash against Serie A giants Internazionale Milan on 10 June.