‘Great signing!’ but ‘Thats a lot, Kova is 20-25m’ – Man City fans react as club ‘closing in’ on €40 million deal for Mateo Kovacic

Manchester City fans have been reacting to a post on Twitter which relays a report that claims Pep Guardiola’s side are closing in on their first signing of the 2023 summer transfer window, with a deal for Mateo Kovacic on the brink of completion.

The deal – that would see the Croatian international join the newly crowned European champions – has reportedly entered it’s final stages.

Earlier this month, it was reported that the Chelsea midfielder had agreed personal terms with the Citizens, who were said to be looking to discuss a potential fee with the west London club following the recent Champions League final.

With City having ended the season with three trophies added to their cabinet, a fresh update has come to light regarding their interest in Kovacic.

According to new information from ESPN’s James Olley, Manchester City are now ‘on the brink’ of completing a deal worth around €40 million/£34.2 million to sign Chelsea midfielder Mateo Kovacic.

Talks between the two clubs have reportedly ‘progressed well’ in recent days, with a ‘broad agreement’ on the transfer fee leading to ‘more detailed conversations’ about how the payments are structured.

ESPN report that one of the few remaining outstanding issues centres on how much Manchester City will pay Chelsea up front. Despite such issues, it is stated that the expectation is that a deal for the 29-year-old will be completed ‘within the next fortnight’.

The report was shared on Twitter by City Xtra and it attracted plenty of attention from the club’s supporters.

@ItsLB_City: “Great signing!”

@MCFC_Tonyy: “That’s a good price, not sure why people are saying that’s too expensive?”

@KoloCornelius: “40m for a 29yr old with a year left on his contract really?”

@mcfcVids_: “Thats a lot man. Kova is 20-25m”

@KDBallerSZN: “It’s too much me thinks. £30m should’ve been the max we should be paying. For reference Thiago moved for £25m to Livepool at the same age too.”

@Little_Citeh: “For the people complaining about the age and price: we signed a 28yo Fernandinho for 30 million from Shakhtar 10 years ago. Didn’t turn out too bad.”

@CarefreeEdition: “It’s smart business by us to get such a high fee if true but Kovacic is a baller and if given proper opportunity at City he’ll finally be considered one of the best in the League especially under Guardiola, who could even develop/add to his game too..”

@magicalsilva21: “Absolute steal. Just wait and watch.”