€5m Kovacic gap means that deal is practically done if City negotiate like normal

Fabrizio Romano’s update on the Mateo Kovacic transfer to Man City last night claimed that the teams are at the “final stages” of the deal. With one year left on his contract, the Blues have decided to sell, and City see him as a great technical option in the middle of pitch to replace Ilkay Gundogan, who looks likely to leave and seek a new challenge elsewhere this summer once his City contract expires.

The only thing left to sort out is the transfer fee. Romano’s Tweet claims that Chelsea are holding out for €30m, while Manchester City’s first approach was at €25m.

To us that says just one thing – a deal will be done immediately. City are so impressive with how they work in the transfer market, and one of the ways that manifests itself is how quickly they wrap things up. They only get into a bidding situation when they know they’re close to a deal, and just like in this case they don’t mess around with low ball offers – they swoop when they know a team needs to sell, as Chelsea do in this situation.

The €5m gap between the two valuations is almost negligible, and a suitable arrangement of bonus clauses of that amount will keep everyone happy.

With personal terms already agreed, this one could be done by the end of next week or even sooner.