Mateo Kovacic – Shakhtar vs Real Madrid | Vlad1988 / Shutterstock.com
In previous years, we witnessed that football clubs usually waited until the end of the transfer window to complete the work on bringing in reinforcements. However, this summer the trend is a little different. European football giants have already realized some multi-million dollar transfers. For example, Real Madrid brought Eden Hazard from Chelsea and Luka Jović from Eintracht. Barcelona has already signed Ajax’s first star, Frenkie de Jong. Also, there are rumors in the newspapers that the transfer of Antoine Griezmann from Atletico Madrid has been agreed, as well as the return of Neymar to the Camp Nou from the French PSG.
Croatian football players are also sought-after “goods” on the summer football market . It remains to be seen which of these transfers will be realized by the start of the next football season.
In recent days, the media has written a lot about the permanent transfer of Mateo Kovačić from Real Madrid to London’s Chelsea after a one-year loan. The most famous Spanish sports newspaper Marca reported that the negotiations between the two teams are in the final phase and that all that remains is to agree on the financial details of the contract.
Kovačić becomes the most expensive Croatian footballer of all time
The Spanish Marca writes that Real is asking for €50 million for Kovacic, and that Chelsea sent the first offer of €40 million. Apparently, a compromise solution was found, so the London Blues will allocate €45 million for Kovačić’s signature. Some other teams were interested in the services of the popular “Kove”, first of all Inter Milan , but our footballer decided on a team from West London.
If the transfer of Mateo Kovačić from Real Madrid to Chelsea is successfully realized, this twenty-five-year-old midfielder will become the most expensive footballer in Croatian history and thus break his own record when he moved from Inter Milan to Real Madrid for 31 million European banknotes. The top 5 transfers in Croatian football history are:
- Mateo Kovačić (from Real Madrid to Chelsea) – €45 million;
- Mateo Kovačić (from Inter to Real Madrid) – €31 million;
- Luka Modrić (from Tottenham to Real Madrid) – €30 million;
- Dejan Lovren (from Southampton to Liverpool) – €25 million i
- Marko Pjaca (from Dinamo Zagreb to Juventus) – €23 million.
Chelsea found a loophole in the law to realize the transfer of Kovačić
Despite Chelsea being banned from bringing in players due to negotiations with underage players, the London club’s management found a way to circumvent FIFA rules and sign Mateo Kovacic. Since the Croatian midfielder was already in the Chelsea team when FIFA made the decision to ban the registration of new football players, the possibility of a transfer between Chelsea and Real was opened.
Dejan Lovren – Croatia vs. England | DarioZg / Shutterstock.com
The two teams have already done business this summer, because a few weeks ago Eden Hazard went in the opposite direction to Madrid for the sum of €100 million. The amount of €45 million that Real should receive from Chelsea for Kovacic will serve the team from Santiago Bernabeu to fill its coffers, which have already been pretty much emptied this summer due to high-profile transfers.
Kovačić’s performances in the past season satisfied the management of Plavac
Mateo Kovačić played 51 games for Chelsea in the 2018/19 season, he did not manage to enter the list of top scorers, but he recorded two assists. However, last season he brought the necessary solidity and freshness to the midfield and was a very important factor in the team that managed to win the Europa League trophy.
In the Premier League, Kovačić played a total of 32 games for the London Blues, 21 of which he started in the starting line-up, and 11 times former coach Maurizio Sarri introduced him from the bench for reserve players. Despite the fact that fans of the team from west London expected a fight for the title in the Premier League last season, the third place in the end didn’t turn out too bad either, as Chelsea will compete in the Champions League next season. By buying Kovačić’s contract from Real, Chelsea showed that they are seriously counting on him in the next season as well.
Some of the biggest betting houses have already released offers with options to bet on the winner of the Premier League for the 2019/20 season. Thus, the bookmaker 888sport offered odds of 26.00 for players who want to bet on Chelsea winning the English Premier League next season. The company 888sport offers you the possibility to bet on how many points the team from Stamford Bridge will win in the strongest league of England next season. For more than 68.5 points won, 888sport gives odds of 2.00.
Also, it remains to be seen who will be Kovacic’s coach at Chelsea next season. After Italian expert Maurizio Sarri left the team to take over Juventus, the London Blues entered into negotiations with team legend Frank Lampard . Last season, Lampard managed to lead the Derby County team to the play-offs in the English Championship in his debut season as a coach and now, according to the media on the Island, he is the main candidate for the Chelsea bench.
The Betfair bookmaker also gives Lampard the best chance to take over the team where he achieved his greatest career success. The Betfair company is offering a minimum odds of 1.04 for punters who want to bet on Lampard becoming the Chelsea manager which suggests that the transfer is quite certain. In case you think Super Frank will be up for the job at the West London outfit, you can also place your bet on the other contenders. Betfair offers odds of 11.00 for Rafa Benitez to take over this team. If you think that Jose Mourinho will once again sit on the Blues bench, betfair offers you a coefficient of 19.00 for that guy.