Rio Ferdinand believes Manchester City have done “great business” by signing Mateo Kovacic from Chelsea.
The Croatian international has joined the treble winners in a deal that could be worth up to £30m and Ferdinand says the Citizens have made a “shrewd” decision to bring in the 29-year-old:
“Kovacic, great signing. Obviously, they’ve lost [Ilkay] Gundogan, the captain. But I think Kovacic is a shrewd signing, at that price as well. I think he was £30-something million, £35 million. In the current market, huge business, great business.”
“Full of experience, won the biggest trophies and a different player to what they’ve got in that area, can travel with the ball through the lines so that’s a good signing.”
Kovacic had a year left on his contract at Stamford Bridge and, combined with his age, it meant City were able to secure his services relatively cheaply.
He will offer City something different
As Ferdinand points out, manager Pep Guardiola doen’t really have a player like Kovacic in this first-team squad. The Croatian does like to carry the ball and he is press-resistant; capable of getting himself away from opposing defenders and running into space.
Some pundits have actually questioned whether Kovacic will fit in at the Etihad, due to the fact he isn’t the type of midfielder that you would usually associate with Guardiola and Tika-taka football. He does hold on to possession rather than look for a quick layoff to a teammate.
Even so, he is a vastly experienced player, and a Champions League winner in his own right, so you wouldn’t expect it would be too difficult for him to adapt. The fact that the Premier League champions managed to snap him up for a rather modest fee as well makes it a worthwhile gamble, even if he doesn’t quite meet expectations.
