Manchester City midfielder Phil Foden has praised Mateo Kovacic for the way he has settled into life quickly at his new club.
The Croatian international has looked impressive in pre-season and Foden says he can already see what he will offer the team:
“Mateo has come straight into the team, and he has fitted in really well and looks at home He’s a person that can bring a lot of quality to the team. He is aggressive in the challenge and good at getting out of pressure in tight situations. I feel like him coming into the team can help us a lot and I’m really excited to play with him.”
City managed to secure Kovacic’s signature for a pretty low fee due to the fact that he had less than a year left on his contract at Chelsea, and supporters on Twitter are happy that the club have managed to bring in a quality player relatively cheaply:
We really got chealsea’s best player for 35m
— FodenSZN (@FodenxSZN) July 26, 2023
Top quality signing
— sanesou (@sanesou) July 26, 2023
Such a bargain honestly
— benjamin 🏴 (@4xVettel) July 26, 2023
Exciting times, the team we have right now is good enough to win it all again this season, don’t buy into the negativity from some fans.
— Bluemoon1950 (@CharlesFauntle4) July 27, 2023
We got the best Chelsea midfielder for the cheapest 😭
— ❄️ (@icedinmyveins) July 26, 2023
He’s the perfect pep player
— Akshat 🏆🏆🏆 (@AkshatMCFC_47) July 26, 2023
Kovacic does possess a unique skillset
Some fans have argued that the Croatian doesn’t really bring a lot to the table in terms of goals and assists, but his attributes are very different to the rest of the midfielders in Pep Guardiola‘s squad.
As Foden mentions, he is extremely press resistant, and his ability to get out of tight paces and run at opponents should make him a tremendous asset, especially when trying to break down teams who put ten men behind the ball.