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What's the story?
Chelsea have just one week to decide if they want to complete the signing of Mateo Kovacic from Real Madrid. The London club will not be able to sign any player due to the FIFA sanction imposed on the club. However, the London-based club can sign Mateo Kovacic, because the midfielder is already registered with the club on loan.
In case you didn't know
Chelsea signed the Croatian midfielder on a one-year loan deal in the summer of 2018. The Croatian had a decent first campaign as he made 32 appearances for the club in the Premier League. He failed to score any goal and only got two assists but he does have the quality to be an asset for any team.
Heart of the matter
Real Madrid has spent handsomely on new signings in the current transfer window. Now the Madrid giants are looking to sell some of their players to raise funds. One of the outgoings can be Kovacic, but Real Madrid won't allow him to go for cheap. According to AS, the Spanish giants want a figure of around €50 million for the midfielder.
Chelsea has less than a week to decide if they want to sign Kovacic but they are in a tricky situation. Maurizio Sarri left the club for Juventus and Chelsea is currently without a manager. So it remains to be seen if the new manager would fancy the Croatian in his squad.
If Chelsea fails to complete the deal in the given time, Kovacic and Real Madrid would have to look at other destinations. One of those destinations can be Inter Milan, where the Croatian had impressed as a youngster.
What's next?
Real Madrid has a huge squad, so they must trim the squad by selling or loaning a few players. It would be interesting to see if they loan or sell Kovacic.
