Chelsea have confirmed that midfielder Mateo Kovacic has signed for the club on a permanent basis.
The Blues have reportedly paid Real Madrid £40m for the 25-year-old following a season on loan at Stamford Bridge.
The majority of fans on Twitter reacted positively to the Kovacic signing:
Class player. Good signing !#CFC
— Flávio Xavier (@Fxds13) 1 July 2019
A proper baller. He has got the talent. Just need to improve his goal scoring stats.
— Chelseaista (@Chelseaista_cfc) 1 July 2019
FINALLY?
— JS ???? (@JS_SZN) 1 July 2019
finally we’re making progress. now onto lampard
— Grace primrose (@grace_primrose0) 1 July 2019
Hope he proves more than last season, close control of the ball no one does it like kova, want him to score shoot and provide more assists
— Siddanth (@ASiddanth) 1 July 2019
He was outstanding in Baku with arsenal game
— Emmanuel MUNYAMAHORO (@emunyamahoro) 1 July 2019
Top player..needs to add goals to his game ..hopefully Frank will help him on that
— Joe McAdams (@JoeMcAdams7) 1 July 2019
Please show him how to kick the football towards the white posts.
— Jordan Wood (@RainManTheRtard) 1 July 2019
Love this signing. Really good, technical and press-resistant player! Will buy his shirt next week! #CFC
— ????? (@_chelseachris) 1 July 2019
In your face Fifa
— MAKE CHELSEA GREAT AGAIN ©️ (@Chelseafrustra1) 1 July 2019
Chelsea managed to find a loophole in FIFA’s transfer ban. As Kovacic is already registered with the club, they could make the Croatian international’s deal permanent without circumventing the sanctions.
The midfielder made 51 appearances last season, but he didn’t score a single goal and provided just two assists, leading many to criticise his effectiveness in the final third of the pitch.
Kovacic is, however, a defensive midfielder by trade, and it’s likely he’ll be employed deeper next season by Frank Lampard if the Derby boss’s appointment is confirmed.
The Rams generally played with one defensive midfielder last campaign, but not in the “Regista” role like Jorginho. It could be a straight fight between the Italian, Kovacic and N’Golo Kante for that one position on the pitch.