Mateo Kovacic could make his Chelsea debut at Huddersfield on Saturday afternoon after completing a loan move from Real Madrid on Thursday.
Having made it clear he wanted to leave the Santiago Bernabeu ahead of the new season, the Croatian international finally got his wish as he headed to the capital.
Signed from Inter Milan in 2015, the 24-year-old has struggled to nail down a regular place in Los Blancos’ team given he is competing against the likes of Casemiro, Toni Kroos and Luka Modric for a place in the starting XI.
After three years filled with trophies I have decided to move on. Eventhough are paths now separate I want to say big thank you to @realmadrid family and all the fans for an amazing part of my life I will never forget. #HalaMadrid pic.twitter.com/vka7UUfsig
— Mateo Kovačić (@Mateo_Kova23) August 10, 2018
Although there is no option in his loan deal to make the move permanent, the highly-rated player seems to have made it clear on Twitter that he won’t be returning to the Spanish capital.
“After three years filled with trophies I have decided to move on,” he wrote.
“Even though are paths now separate I want to say big thank you to @realmadrid family and all the fans for an amazing part of my life I will never forget. #HalaMadrid.”
While his loan deal is only for the season, his message does sound very much like he won’t be making a return to the Champions League holders come next July.
Speaking to the media on Friday afternoon at the club’s Cobham training base, Chelsea boss Maurizio Sarri stated that he believes the midfielder could be a very important player for the club over the course of the season.
“Kovacic, I think, is a very technical player and he likes to play between the lines of the opponent,” he said.
“For us, that could be very important.”