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Chelsea transfer news: Real Madrid agree Mateo Kovacic loan despite sly tactic - report
REAL MADRID have agreed to let midfielder Mateo Kovacic join Chelsea on loan, according to reports.
Mateo Kovacic scores sensational training goal
Chelsea are accelerating their transfer plans with less than 48 hours to go and want Real Madrid’s Kovacic to be their third arrival of a turbulent summer.
The Blues appointed Maurizio Sarri as manager three weeks ago and the Italian then moved swiftly to sign Jorginho.
Since then, Chelsea have agreed a deal for Athletic Bilbao’s Kepa, whose imminent move to Stamford Bridge is expected to see Thibaut Courtois move to Real Madrid.
And Spanish newspaper El Pais claim Los Blancos have reluctantly agreed to let Kovacic jump ship to west London.
However, they have reportedly used a sly tactic to try and convince the former Inter Milan star to stay.
Real have endured a rocky summer, losing Cristiano Ronaldo to Juventus and failing to land a 50-goal-a-season replacement.
And, in order to avoid losing Kovacic as well, El Pais claim Bernabeu chiefs asked for a helping hand from Luka Modric.
Modric is close to his compatriot. It was he who, back in 2015, urged Florentino Perez to sign Kovacic from Inter.
Perez reportedly enlisted the help of the 23-year-old in a bid to get Kovacic to change his mind on a Bernabeu exit.
Kovcacic is reporedly ‘overwhelmed’ by the competition he faces to get into Julen Lopetegui’s side.
And, with Kovacic pinning his lack of World Cup minutes on his failure to nail down a starting spot, a new challenge in the Premier League now beckons.
Meanwhile, speaking yesterday, Lopetegui was forced to deny reports that Kovacic had refused to train.
He said of the Chelsea target: “You speak to me about problems with Kovacic, but I know nothing about any of this.
“Mateo is training regularly with his teammates and there are no problems with him whatsoever.
“He is a player I particularly like and I am very happy to have him in the team.”
Kovacic has won the Champions League three times throughout his time in Spain.
Read below to learn more about the 24-year-old.
Who is Real Madrid star and Chelsea target Mateo Kovacic?
Age: 24
Country: Croatia
Honours: Prva HNL 2010–11, 2011–12
Croatian Cup 2010–11, 2011–12
La Liga 2016–17
Supercopa de España 2017
UEFA Champions League 2015–16, 2016–17, 2017–18
UEFA Super Cup 2016, 2017
FIFA Club World Cup 2016, 2017