Mateo Kovacic linked with Manchester City exit just 12 months after Chelsea transfer

Manchester City are once again linked with transfer talks between themselves and Saudi Arabia, this time concerning the future of recent signing Mateo Kovacic.

The 29-year-old arrived at the Etihad Stadium from Premier League rivals Chelsea just last summer, with Manchester City sanctioning a deal understood to have been worth in the region of £25 million.

The Croatia international was brought into Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City first-team squad as a like-for-like replacement for Ilkay Gundogan, who brought an end to his illustrious time in Sky Blue by joining FC Barcelona on a free transfer.

While it has taken some time for the former Real Madrid man to acclimatise to life under Pep Guardiola, his performances in recent games have certainly seen a rise, and culminated in a stunning strike during City’s 2-6 win over Luton in the FA Cup fifth round.

However, Mateo Kovacic’s time with Manchester City could end up being relatively short-lived if a recent report is to be believed, with the versatile midfielder being linked with an exit from European football in the coming months.

That is according to the information of HITC, who report that Mateo Kovacic could be heading to Saudi Arabia from Manchester City this summer.

Across the course of Kovacic’s time with Manchester City so far this season, the midfielder has registered a total of 30 appearances across all competitions, scoring two goals and providing a further assist.

Mateo Kovacic’s first goal for Manchester City came in Saudi Arabia, having scored for the Premier League champions en route to their first ever FIFA Club World Cup victory in late December.

In fact, the former Chelsea man featured in both of Manchester City’s cup successes so far this season, contributing to the UEFA Super Cup victory in Athens, Greece over Sevilla, and subsequently the tournament in the middle-east to round off an exemplary 2023.