Mateo Kovacic is set to undergo a medical on Friday that will move him closer to being the first Manchester City signing of the summer.
Earlier in the week, City agreed an initial fee of £25m with Chelsea for Kovacic that includes a further £5m in potential add-ons, with the West London club happy to sell the player on as they look to balance their books after unprecedented spending last season under their new owners. The Croatian is keen on the move and should complete it later this week providing there are no issues with the medical.
Rodri came face-to-face with his latest teammate during the Nations League Final as Spain pipped Croatia in a penalty shootout. Kovacic signing early in the window does mean that he will be able to join Guardiola and the rest of the squad for the beginning of pre-season next month.
Kovacic will be the first through the door for City in a summer that still holds uncertainty for how Pep Guardiola's squad will look at the end of the window. Ilkay Gundogan is a confirmed departure but beyond that it is not yet clear what will happen.
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City do not see Kovacic as a direct replacement for Gundogan and so could go back into the market for another midfielder, with interest in West Ham star Declan Rice. However, it remains to be seen if they will pay what West Ham want with their top defensive target Josko Gvardiol not likely to be cheap.
Aymeric Laporte and Bernardo Silva are expected to depart if they can find bidders, while there is also uncertainty over the futures of Riyad Mahrez and Kyle Walker.
