Chelsea’s deal to sign World Cup runner-up could turn out to be a masterstroke by Sarri

Why signing Mateo Kovacic from Real Madrid would be an excellent move for Chelsea

Chelsea endured a lacklustre transfer window which saw the club bring in just three new additions. The Blues brought in Napoli midfielder Jorginho and veteran goalkeeper Robert Green.

Fortunately, manager Maurizio Sarri managed to land Real Madrid midfielder Matteo Kovacic on loan before the window shut yesterday. Chelsea completed a swap move for the midfielder, which saw goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois move to the Santiago Bernabeu. (BBC)

Kovacic expressed his desire to leave Santiago Bernabeu in search of first-team football (h/t Sky Sports). The Croatian was only able to muster a total of 10 La Liga appearances for the club last season. He was largely restricted to a bench role due to the presence of Luka Modric, Casemiro and Isco at the club.

The Blues failed to considerably strengthen their squad this summer apart from completing a deal for Jorginho. Kovacic’s arrival, however, should provide Sarri with some sort of relief. The midfielder is a quality player on the ball and he can play in a number of systems.

He is a pass master in the middle of the park and possesses impressive distribution skills that will certainly prove to be useful while going forward. With excellent vision and creativity, Kovacic can split open the opposition and send Chelsea’s attackers through on goal. Furthermore, the Real Madrid midfielder boasted an average pass success rate of 94.3% at the World Cup this summer.

The Croatian also possesses neat dribbling abilities on the ball. He is capable of twisting and shimmying past his markers before playing the strikers through. Kovacic is also versatile enough to play on the left flank. He possesses all the traits required to flourish in Maurizio Sarri’s high-octane, all-action football setup.

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Though the Blues lost Courtois, they successfully snapped up Athletic Bilbao shot-stopper Kepa Arrizabalaga for a world record fee of £71.5 million. The fee eclipsed the amount that Liverpool paid for Alisson Becker, subsequently making Kepa the world’s most expensive goalkeeper. The deal also sees the goalkeeper become Chelsea’s most expensive signing ever. (ESPN)

Kovacic will provide Chelsea with the stability and energy needed in the middle of the park. But the departure of Courtois should not be taken lightly.