Ilkay Gundogan out, Mateo Kovacic in: Manchester City have said farewell to a seven-year servant and welcomed a 29-year-old Croatia international in his stead.
Kovacic has signed from Chelsea for a reported £25m and has penned a four-year deal at the Etihad.
It’s a straight swap in so much that both players are central midfielders – but there are obvious differences in playing style between the two.
So can Kovacic enter the Fantasy Premier League (FPL) radar after five years of being an afterthought, and where exactly does he fit in at City?
KOVACIC: WHERE WILL HE PLAY AT CITY?
Above: The 2022/23 touch heatmaps of Mateo Kovacic (left) and Ilkay Gundogan (right)
While operating in different systems, Gundogan and Kovacic have both tended to be deployed as left-sided central midfielders at their respective clubs.
Kovacic thus taking on Gundogan’s vacated left-sided ‘number eight’ role is the obvious read, although Man City director of football Txiki Begiristain also suggested the Croatian could be cover – or a partner – for Rodri in central midfield.
“I feel on the left side of the midfield (is probably my best position). But in the end, it’s always the manager who decides where do you play, and I think I am quite flexible – but for sure he will tell me what he wants from me, and this is what I want to learn and to improve my skills to be a better player.” – Mateo Kovacic
“Mateo is an excellent footballer. He can play as a six or an eight, has plenty of experience at top-level clubs and he understands the Premier League. It was a very simple decision to bring him to City because he has the tactical and technical qualities we are looking for in a midfielder.” – Txiki Begiristain, Man City’s Director of Football
KOVACIC AT CITY: WILL HE BE A REGULAR STARTER?
Only a handful of City players are rotation-proof starters every season and it’d be a surprise if Kovacic was one of them.
Instead, he’ll likely be just one of several central midfield options as Pep Guardiola continues with his week-to-week, horses-for-courses selections and tailors his starting XI to the opposition.
Picking specific midfielders for certain games is something the City boss has discussed very recently:
“I know the qualities. When I want runners in the attacking midfielders I will put Phil [Foden] or [Ilkay] Gundo. They are better than Kevin [De Bruyne] when he is closer to the ball. When I want more control I will play Bernardo. Sometimes for the way the opponent defends, the form and many things, I need a specific player to do this or that. That is why they play.” – Pep Guardiola, speaking in February 2023 about his personnel choices in midfield
Based on what we have seen at Chelsea and beyond, Kovacic belongs in the Bernardo camp.
KOVACIC AT CITY: WHICH GAMES WILL HE START?
We won’t bore you with a data-heavy deep-dive on ‘progressive carries’ or other niche metrics (oh go on then) but in a nutshell, Kovacic’s strengths lie in dribbling, ball retention, close control and resisting presses. As a result, he seems suited to games against some of the more aggressive ‘bigger’ sides (eg Arsenal, Liverpool, Man Utd) where he can wriggle out of tight spaces, bypass the press and set City away on attacks. It’s the “control” that Guardiola talks of above and why Bernardo often features in the trickier fixtures, typically on the right flank.
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