Manchester United are expected to join Liverpool in the race to sign Chelsea midfielder Mateo Kovacic, as per a report in 90min.
The midfielder has been amongst the Chelsea ranks permanently since 2019 and over the years, he’s turned himself into a proper utility player for the Blues. He’s played over 200 games for the club across all competitions but his time at Stamford Bridge seems to be coming to an end.
He has less than 18 months left on his current contract and there’s no way Chelsea will offer him an extension. In fact, the 28-year-old might just be put up for sale at the end of the season hence the interest from Liverpool and now Manchester United.
Will Chelsea want to sell Mateo Kovacic?
The Blues have paid a massive amount for Enzo Fernandes in January plus they also have players like Kante and Gallagher amongst his ranks so in theory, Graham Potter has no need of Kovacic.
Chelsea have spent crazy amounts of money over the two transfer windows so they have to sell players this summer in order to balance their books and we think the Croatian international will be one of those unfortunate ones.
Next campaign, Fernandes will be the first-choice central midfield with the ageing and injury-prone N’Golo Kante acting as the perfect backup.
Man United or Liverpool: Which will the midfielder end up?
Strengthening their midfield will be a priority for both Manchester United and Liverpool and someone like Mateo Kovacic can really do a handy job.
He might be a central midfielder by trade but the 28-year-old certainly has an eye for a pass plus he’s also a good carrier of the ball.
Manchester United will need a backup/replacement for Christian Eriksen so registering an interest in Kovacic does make a lot of sense. Liverpool have players like Henderson and Thiago but they are going to go trophyless this season so an upgrade is very much on the cards.
However, Mateo Kovacic is not a priority signing for either of these clubs because Liverpool wish to land Jude Bellingham while Manchester United will ideally want to sign someone like Declan Rice or Frenkie de Jong. Whichever team misses out on their first-choice target will be the one to shift their focus to Chelsea’s Mateo Kovacic.
