Mateo Kovacic was officially signed to a four-year deal by Manchester City after he was successfully recruited away from Chelsea.

“Kovacic is our first signing of this summer transfer window and will join the team towards the 2023/24 season with more success,” reads the statement that can be seen on the homepage of the Manchester City website.

After signing with Etihad, Kovacic is widely seen as the most obvious choice to take Ilkay Gundogan’s place in the lineup. In point of fact, after Gundogan made his decision to go with Barcelona, “The Citizens” also granted Kovacic the vacant number 8 shirt to wear.

This is also the well-known shirt number of the player that finished in second place in the 2018 World Cup. Before switching to the number 8 shirt for the last two seasons at Stamford Bridge, the Croatian midfielder played his first three seasons at Chelsea with the number 17 shirt.

The Athletic reports that Manchester City’s annual fixed fees amount to £25 million. There is no connection between the performance of Kovacic and the additional 5 million pounds that Chelsea receives, which is contingent on the performance of Man City.

During the event in which the contract was signed, Kovacic stated, “This is a great new chapter.” I cannot wait to begin my career with Manchester City. Anyone who has watched Man City while they have been coached by Pep Guardiola is aware of how strong the team is. Anyone would consider it a dream come true to be a part of this squad. I have a lot of ground to cover in terms of education and growth. I believe that by working with Guardiola, I will become a better player.

Even though Manchester City just completed a historic triple by winning the Champions League, head coach Pep Guardiola intends to quickly enhance the roster in order to keep the club in its current position. After having success in acquiring Kovacic, “The Citizens” will reportedly put their attention toward concluding a deal involving Josko Gvardiol.

According to reports in British media, RB Leipzig wanted no less than £75 million in extra compensation for the Croatian player’s departure. Additionally, Man City is prepared to make Gvardiol the most expensive midfielder in the world by purchasing him. When Harry Maguire signed with Manchester United in the summer of 2019 for a transfer fee of £ 80 million, he became the new owner of this record.