Manchester City have completed the signing of Croatia midfielder Mateo Kovacic from Chelsea.
The treble winners have announced the 29-year-old has signed a four-year contract at the Etihad Stadium after the clubs agreed an initial fee of £25 million (€29 million), with a potential extra £5 million (€6 million) in add-ons, last week.
Kovacic joins Pep Guardiola’s side after five years at Chelsea, where he won the Champions League and Europa League and made 221 appearances.
He is City’s first signing of the summer and his arrival compensates for the departure of captain Ilkay Gundogan, who joined Barcelona on a free transfer on Monday after seven years at the club.
Kovacic said: “This is a brilliant move for me and I cannot wait to get started with City.
“Anyone who has watched this team under Pep knows how good they are. For me, they are the best in the world.
“The trophies they have won are clear for all to see, but they are also the best footballing side out there.
“To be joining this squad really is a dream for any footballer. I still have plenty of learning and developing to do, and I know under Pep’s management I can become a better player, which is really exciting for me.
“My plan now is to rest for a few weeks before coming back to Manchester to prepare for the new season. I want to help this club stay at the top and win more trophies.”
Kovacic is a four-time Champions League winner having also enjoyed success in Europe’s elite competition three times with Real Madrid before joining the Blues.
A versatile player, he began his career with Dinamo Zagreb and has also had a spell at Inter Milan. He has earned 95 caps for his country and will inherit Gundogan’s number eight shirt.
City director of football Txiki Begiristain said: “Mateo is an excellent footballer.
“He can play as a ‘six’ or an ‘eight’, has plenty of experience at top-level clubs and he understands the Premier League.
“It was a very simple decision to bring him to City because he has the tactical and technical qualities we are looking for in a midfielder.
“He is someone we have monitored for a very long time and always we were impressed whenever we watched him. I am delighted he is here.
“This is a great signing for this club, and I am very excited to watch what he can do with Pep and the rest of our backroom team.”
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AC Milan are close to agreeing a deal to sign Ruben Loftus-Cheek from Chelsea, the PA news agency understands.
A move for the 27-year-old is yet to be finalised but the Serie A side are hopeful that it will be completed in the coming days.
It will bring to an end a near 20-year association between Chelsea and the England international, who joined the club’s academy in 2004.
He has scored 13 times in 155 appearances for the club, with 10 of those coming during the 2018-19 campaign, but struggled for game time under successive managers during the second half of last season.
He was a part of the England squad who reached the semi-finals of the 2018 World Cup in Russia.
The club are keen to do as much outgoing transfer business as possible before June 30th so that deals can be included in financial accounts for the 2022-23 season.
N’Golo Kante and Kalidou Koulibaly have already departed to join sides in Saudi Arabia’s Professional League, with Edouard Mendy and Hakim Ziyech expected to follow them after deals were agreed.
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Tottenham are expected to dismiss Bayern Munich’s offer of €70 million (£60 million) plus add-ons for Harry Kane. Daniel Levy, the Spurs chairman, remains reluctant to sell their striker this summer and Bayern’s opening proposal falls short of the asking price.
The England captain is unlikely to be sold for less than €116 million (£100m), even though he has a year left on his contract and can leave on a free transfer next summer. Levy does not want to lose Kane, who has also been targeted by Manchester United and Real Madrid, and sources have suggested the likelihood is that the 29-year-old is still a Spurs player next season.
Thomas Tuchel, Bayern’s manager, is a huge admirer of Kane and wanted to bring him to Chelsea two years ago. Tuchel, who is also trying to beat United to the signing of the Chelsea midfielder, Mason Mount, is pushing the German champions to spend big on a new striker this summer. Bayern have also been looking at Napoli’s Victor Osimhen, whose valuation has been set at €150m.
