Chelsea make latest mistake by allowing proven winner to seal Man City transfer

04 June 2023 , 09:00

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Mateo Kovacic is expected to join Pep Guardiola's team this summer. (Image: Visionhaus/Getty Images)

Chelsea are shooting themselves in the foot by allowing midfielder Mateo Kovacic talk to Manchester City.

The Croatia star, 29, has one year left on his deal at Stamford Bridge but is expected to make a move to the champions in the summer transfer window as Chelsea aim to reduce the size of their squad. England's Mason Mount is also tipped to join Manchester United in a bumper move.

And Mirror columnist Stan Collymore believes it is another big mistake from Todd Boehly and company as they make City stronger and weaken their own squad.

“What are Chelsea thinking by allowing Mateo Kovacic to hold talks with Manchester City?” Collymore writes in his column this morning. “They are contributing to City’s success and to their own detriment.

“City repeatedly get their transfer business done without much fuss and this looks like another example. But they don’t need any more help and are the last club a Premier League team should be looking to send players to.”

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Collymore believes a number of Premier League teams should come together and agree to stop selling players to Pep Guardiola’s side because it would shorten the yawning gap on top of the table.

“If six or seven English clubs made a pact not to sell to them, they would collectively make it more difficult for City to recruit who they want and that could give someone else a chance of winning the league.

Todd Boehly has spent around £600million on his Chelsea squad and must now trim the numbers down. (Getty Images)

“Chelsea are keen to get rid of Kovacic now because he is entering the last year of his contract and they need to ease their bloated squad but they should have been looking to sell to clubs on the continent or even MLS. A player of his talent who is wanted by the champions will have had lots of offers on the table.”

And the former Liverpool and Aston Villa forward is sure that Kovacic, a four-times winner of the Champions League, will be a success at City as they look to make it six league titles in seven years.

He added: “Kovacic has just turned 29, possesses a winning mentality thanks to three straight Champions League wins at Real Madrid plus another and a Europa League while at Stamford Bridge. He might not score too often but he creates and his ability to pass over the top will suit Erling Haaland down to the ground.

“The Croatian will not be the first name on Guardiola’s team-sheet should the deal be completed but he will make City stronger and that’s why it is the latest bizarrely bad decision from Chelsea.”

Alan Smith