Chelsea midfielder Mateo Kovacic enters the final 12 months of his contract in the summer, leaving the possibility of the club losing the Croatian on a free transfer. So there's no surprise that Todd Boehly has begun talks over a new deal with the 28-year-old.
Kovacic has established himself as one of Graham Potter's most important players since the former Brighton boss succeeded Thomas Tuchel as manager in September. The midfielder has featured in all nine of Potter's games in charge and has been a timely replacement for N'Golo Kante following surgery on his hamstring.
The club face a number of key decisions ahead of June 2024 where Mason Mount, Christian Pulisic, Ruben Loftus-Cheek, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Cesar Azpilicueta join Kovacic to see their current deals in west London expire. However, reports have emerged that talks have started with the former Real Madrid over extending his stay.
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That's according to the Evening Standard, who claim the Blues are eager to open talks with Kovacic following his World Cup campaign with Croatia. Zlatko Dalic's side face Belgium, Canada and Morocco in Group F looking to repeat their success in 2018 of finishing as runners-up.
Kovacic has produced a string of eye-catching performances for Potter's side, delivering game-changing moments. Last weekend against Manchester United, he was brought on after half an hour to run the midfield and turned the fixture on its head after Erik ten Hag's side dominated.
And in midweek, he opened the scoring away at Red Bull Salzburg in Chelsea's 2-1 Champions League win over Austrian champions Red Bull Salzburg. However, after being replaced by Ruben Loftus-Cheek with over 20 minutes to spare, fear that he had triggered a knee injury previously dealt with, but Potter insisted it was a calf issue instead.
Securing the midfielder's services will strike off one of the contract situations presented to Boehly. As mentioned before, there is a long list of first-team players who are close to entering the final year of their deals and it's expected that the club will attempt to tie down most of them.
However, the move demonstrates Boehly's determination to ensure he does not find himself in the position he sits in right now. Midfield pair Kante and Jorginho are in the final 12 months of their deal at Stamford Bridge and neither have committed their futures, forcing a transfer plan to be prepared in the event that they lose the Frenchman and Italian.
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