Chelsea set Mateo Kovacic asking price as Man City near personal terms agreement

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Chelsea set Mateo Kovacic asking price as Man City near personal terms agreement

Chelsea will demand a fee of around £35m to part ways with midfielder Mateo Kovacic, who is attracting serious interest from Manchester City, 90min understands.

The Premier League champions opened talks over Kovacic, who has one year remaining on his contract, late last month and Chelsea are prepared to do business as they look to fund their own midfield moves.

Sporting CP's Manuel Ugarte is on Chelsea's radar, while the Blues remain keen on Brighton's Moises Caicedo and West Ham's Declan Rice.

Well aware of their need to raise money, Chelsea are prepared to cash in on Kovacic this summer and sources have confirmed to 90min that a price tag of a round £35m has been put on the Croatia international's head.

Such a sum is not expected to cause any problems for City, who continue to move forward with their pursuit of Kovacic after making progress in negotiations with his agent.

An agreement over personal terms with Kovacic is understood to have been reached in principle and City are hopeful of getting a deal wrapped up in the coming weeks.

No formal announcement is expected until after the Champions League final, however, with Pep Guardiola keen to avoid any distractions in the build-up to City's huge clash with Serie A giants Inter on Saturday, 10 June.

Kovacic, a former Inter midfielder, joined Chelsea from Real Madrid in the summer of 2018 on an initial loan deal and has racked up 221 appearances for the Blues, chipping in with six goals and 15 assists in all competitions.

The 29-year-old is now edging closer to a move to City, who are also braced for a minor midfield shake-up as Ilkay Gundogan continues to negotiate a potential free transfer to Barcelona.