Rio Ferdinand has encouraged Manchester United to ditch their pursuit of Frenkie de Jong in favour of a move for Mateo Kovacic. The 29-year-old midfielder has been heavily linked with a switch to Manchester City recently, with his contract at Stamford Bridge expiring in 12 months.
football.london understands that the Blues are preparing to offload Kovacic this summer, with Bayern Munich also said to be interested in his services. It's believed that talks of an extension on his deal in west London have not yet taken place, meaning the Croatia international will become a free agent at the end of next season.
Thomas Tuchel is said to be keen on reuniting with Kovacic, who enjoyed a great vein of form under the German during their time together at Chelsea. However, Pep Guardiola is also understood to be a huge admirer of the Croatian, with the English champions vying for his signature.
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Kovacic has featured 27 times for the Blues in the Premier League this term, directly contributing towards just three goals. Despite his unimpressive performances, Ferdinand is eager to see the midfielder work his magic at the Theatre of Dreams.
"It sounds too difficult and too complicated [to sign De Jong] – move on," Ferdinand declared on his YouTube channel, FIVE . "I think Kovacic has got a year left. I like him… He's different to what we've got."
With a move on the cards, The Times have claimed that Chelsea will likely demand between £30million and £40million for Kovacic. The report states that he would prefer a move to the Etihad Stadium.
In April after Graham Potter was sacked, the Croatian insisted that he and his teammates must take responsibility for the disappointing results. Speaking on Sky Sports, Kovacic said: "We need to be honest with ourselves. In the end it's easier to sack a coach than 30 players, but it's on us as well, we need to do better.
"We have to say thank you to Potter who was here who did a good job but it's not easy when there are many changes here so it was a tough situation for him as well."
Then, on Frank Lampard's appointment as caretaker manager, he added: "We know him, he was our coach so it's good news that he is back and trying to change our season because it has not been good.
"We had a short meeting. He explained to us what he wants and what his desire is for the end of the season so we now have the opportunity to go and climb the table in the league as much as we can.
'We have two beautiful games with Real Madrid so there is a possibility and if there is a possibility to finish the season good then we should take it.
"He came very calm with a clear idea of what he expects from us but it's still only one day, so we will see in the next days what he will ask us to do on the pitch and how we'll prepare. It's now difficult to tell how it's going to be but he is back and we want to do the best for the club."
With Mauricio Pochettino in the dugout now, Kovacic's days at Chelsea look numbered.
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