Manchester City remain hopeful of signing Chelsea star amid contractual standstill

Pep Guardiola will remain hopeful of securing the services of Chelsea midfielder Mateo Kovacic this summer, amid ongoing contractual issues at Stamford Bridge.

Interest from the Etihad Stadium was first reported by The Telegraph at the end of February, when it was claimed that City’s Catalan coach remains a ‘big admirer’ of Kovacic, having first attempted to sign the player from Real Madrid in 2018.

City are understood to be on alert surrounding the contractual situation of the Croatia international, especially given their desire to sign one or two new central midfielders this summer as part of a refresh of Pep Guardiola’s first-team playing squad.

Away from Kovacic, Borussia Dortmund’s Jude Bellingham remains Manchester City’s number one target. But given the uncertainty surrounding the futures of Bernardo Silva, Ilkay Gundogan, and Kalvin Phillips, multiple new faces may be required.

Transfer-focussed Manchester City officials will remain hopeful this week when it comes to Chelsea’s Mateo Kovacic, after a new report has suggested that there has been no movement from the London club towards agreeing a new contract.

That is according to the information of the Evening Standard’s Nizaar Kinsella, who reports that Chelsea are yet to have opened talks with Mateo Kovacic, despite his current Stamford Bridge contract having just 16 months remaining.

It is further confirmed that the 28 year-old midfielder has interest from Pep Guardiola at Manchester City, while the appointment of former manager Thomas Tuchel at Bayern Munich has put Chelsea ‘on alert’ for interest in their first-team players.

Adding to City’s hope of securing a deal for the player this summer, Kinsella reports that there is ‘a growing feeling’ that Mateo Kovacic could be sold as part of a ‘summer clear-out’ to comply with financial regulations.

Croatian stars in European football have been at the centre of numerous transfer reports at Manchester City in the last few weeks, with RB Leipzig’s Josko Gvardiol understood to be a priority target should they see Aymeric Laporte leave the club.

The Spain international’s future is uncertain following a lack of significant game time this season, following the rise of Manuel Akanji in the first-team squad, and Nathan Ake taking hold of the recently available left-back position.

Laporte is likely to command interest from a number of major European clubs in the coming months, with the likes of Barcelona, Real Madrid, and Paris Saint-Germain all having been alerted to a possible availability.