Chelsea prepare for first major sale of summer as £35m Mateo Kovacic talks progress with Man City
Transfer fee negotiations continue with Chelsea ready to accept bid
anchester City aim to complete the £35million signing of Chelsea midfielder Mateo Kovacic before the end of June.
The 29-year-old is ready to accept a contract offer from Pep Guardiola’s treble-winning side while the clubs remain locked in negotiations over his transfer fee.
Kovacic has just one year remaining on his Chelsea contract and the Blues are open to selling him this summer.
Man City hope to complete the deal to have Kovacic join them in pre-season training, while the Blues are keen to bolster their accounts for the 2022-23 season through his sale.
Chelsea spent a world record £600m on 18 players and registered a £121m loss in the club accounts without qualifying for Europe.
They are also keen to slim down their squad having struggled to manage 32 senior players, announcing on Friday a Premier League-high 79 players on the club’s retained list.
Chelsea will also lose N’Golo Kante to Saudi Arabian giant Al-Ittihad despite offering him a new two-year deal.
Mason Mount remains keen on a move to Manchester United, while Kai Havertz hopes to sign for Arsenal in the coming weeks.
Chelsea are keen to sign Brighton midfielder Moises Caicedo as a replacement but have identified Everton’s Amadou Onana and Southampton’s Romeo Lavia as alternatives.
They also want to sign a striker with Nicholas Jackson emerging as a strong candidate this week for £30m and Inter Milan goalkeeper Andre Onana is a key target to add competition between the posts.