“He shouldn’t be worried” – Josko Gvardiol sends personal message to Manchester City teammate over fan appreciation

Manchester City’s Mateo Kovacic “shouldn’t be worried” about going under the radar in his role under Pep Guardiola, his teammate and compatriot Josko Gvardiol has stated.

The former Chelsea and Real Madrid midfielder has been utilised in a number of roles since making a £30 million move from Stamford Bridge last summer, but could see his latest phase in Manchester City development take him into a new position entirely.

Throughout the course of Manchester City’s pre-season camp in the United States, and into the club’s first competitive game against Manchester United in the Community Shield, Kovacic has operated in a duo in defensive midfield.

Starring alongside Nico O’Reilly against the likes of FC Barcelona and Chelsea in pre-season, as well as at Wembley Stadium last weekend, Kovacic has largely performed to the highest level, showcasing a fine ability to transition the ball from deep into offensive areas.

But with the player having usually found himself higher up the pitch throughout 90 minutes, taking on the position often showcased by Rodri to the highest of standards could see Kovacic fall into the background somewhat.

Speaking during a recent interview with Manchester City’s official club website, Josko Gvardiol has insisted that Mateo Kovacic knows his own qualities and certainly “shouldn’t be worried” about going under the radar within the football world.

“Sometimes, even with the qualities that you have, you don’t get that much attention,” Kovacic said. “Me, as his friend, and obviously all the other guys know his qualities. You saw it in the game against Barcelona (in pre-season).”

Gvardiol continued, “That’s exactly what he does the best, he’s really strong on the ball and it’s so difficult to take the ball away from him. He shouldn’t be worried about being under the radar, he knows his qualities.

“He’s 30 already, he looks young and I believe he thinks he looks young as well and he’s got many things to do. And hopefully he’s going to show the class he has and how good he is, he has already.

“I can talk about his qualities, but more as a person and I’m really happy to have him next to me. He’s a funny guy. He’s funny for me because I get the jokes but some of the other guys don’t understand it.”

Given Rodri is unlikely to be fully match-fit ahead of the Premier League’s opener this weekend, and Manchester City more than happy to bide their time in allowing the Spaniard to return to the club, Kovacic could continue his new role at Stamford Bridge.

Manchester City will travel to face Enzo Maresca’s Chelsea on Sunday afternoon, having already faced the West London club in the build-up to the new season, defeating the Stamford Bridge side in a 4-2 win via an Erling Haaland hat-trick and Oscar Bobb strike in the US.