The impending return and arrival of former Man City skipper Ilkay Gundogan from Barcelona during the summer transfer window is apparently causing midfielder Mateo Kovacic to be re-assessing his future at the Premier League champions.<\/p>\n
The Manchester club secured the return of their former captain as part of a free transfer as financially-beleaguered Barcelona was anxious to get the German star\u2019s salary off of their books to facilitate the registration of their new signing Dani Olmo with La Liga.<\/p>\n
33-year-old Gundogan is an established Man City legend and, once back up to speed, is expected to receive more minutes from Pep Guardiola.<\/p>\n
Fully cognisant of this, Kovacic is believed to be understandably concerned about his future in City\u2019s starting 11 and \u2013 if he sees his minutes reduced over the coming weeks \u2013 could consider a move in January, reports Football Insider.<\/p>\n
The 30-year-old Croatian has started in all three of Man City\u2019s Premier League games and was sensational on the opening weekend against his former club Chelsea.<\/p>\n
The report further states that Guardiola wouldn\u2019t be willing to let Kovacic leave mid-season, therefore, if the player were to pursue a departure, it would be during the summer transfer window of 2025, as clubs in Saudi Arabia have shown interest in the Man City star. However the player is expected to remain at the Etihad Stadium for now.<\/p>\n
Kovacic\u2019s minutes will no doubt be reduced once everyone is fit and ready to contribute to the season, although the 30-year-old will still get a significant amount of action given the amount of football Man City play throughout a campaign.<\/p>\n
Although a non-starting role will not satisfy the former Chelsea star, he is still contributing to one of the best teams in the world and is guaranteed titles during the 2024\/25 season.<\/p>\n
It would be imprudent for Kovacic to leave the Manchester club mid-season, hence he should cool his jets for now and see how the campaign plays out before making a decision on his future next summer.<\/p>\n
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