Mateo Kovacic is ready to quit Chelsea this summer after five years at the club, according to reports.
The 28-year-old initially joined Chelsea on loan from Real Madrid in the summer of 2018 which saw him win the Europa League under Maurizio Sarri.
Chelsea opted to land the Croatian permanently for a fee in excess of £30 million and he has gone onto make over 215 appearances for the club, winning the Champions League, Super Cup and Club World Cup.
Kovacic has just over a year left on his current deal which expires in the summer of 2024 and a decision is set to be made at the end of the season over his future in west London, with Chelsea unwilling to allow players to enter the final year of their respective deals.
He recently commented on his time in London and insisted he feels ‘really, really at home’ in the English capital despite interest from Bayern Munich and Manchester City. It has been previously reported that his representatives have held initial talks with the current Premier League champions over a possible summer move.
“I am five years here already, time flies, and I have been at Chelsea the longest of all the clubs,” the midfielder told the official Chelsea website. “I feel really, really at home. There is nothing to not love in London. My family enjoys it, which makes it easier for me. The food is okay, maybe not like Italy or Spain! But London is amazing.
“My son goes to nursery here in London, he enjoys it, the people are so nice. I can only say good things about London and England. We feel really great here.
“I had the luck to be in great countries, great cities, new cultures, meeting amazing people,’ Kovacic concludes.
“I am blessed I could experience so many nice countries. I learned many lessons, but most of all just to respect all people. How they treated me I can just be thankful, and I tried to treat them the same way they treated me. Just be polite as much as I can, which is not always easy, but be myself.
“When I see where I have been it’s really amazing. I’m just thankful for the people I have met. It’s been a nice journey.”
Chelsea are planning a summer clearout of their squad to reduce the 30-plus group in order to refine Mauricio Pochettino’s, who is expected to be appointed as the club’s next permanent head coach, squad ahead of the 2023/24 season.
Kerry Hau out of Germany that Kovacic is ‘no longer happy’ at Chelsea and wishes to leave the club this summer to end his five-year stay.
A price has not been set by Chelsea, as per the report, but he remains a transfer candidate for Bayern Munich, with former Blues boss Thomas Tuchel an avid admirer of the midfielder.
Nizaar Kinsella of the Evening Standard adds that ‘Chelsea would prefer to sell the midfielder to a club outside England if possible’.
Tuchel is also fond of Mason Mount, who is set to have his future resolved one way or the other this summer, and a double raid of Stamford Bridge could be on for the Bundesliga outfit.
