Jose Mourinho could steal a player from Pep Guardiola for just the second time in his career if he gets his way.
Mourinho has just started a new chapter in his illustrious managerial career by taking charge of Turkish giants Fenerbahce, the tenth different club he has coached.
The 61-year-old is eager to strengthen his squad and has been extremely busy in the transfer market, with the likes of Allan Saint-Maximin, Caglar Soyuncu and Youssef En-Nesyri all coming in.
But he wants to bolster further. According to the information of Turkish media outlet Dirilis Postasi, as translated and relayed by Sport Witness, Mateo Kovacic has emerged as an option for Fenerbahce and the club’s sporting director Mario Branco will fly to England this week to hold transfer talks.
It is claimed that Branco hopes to have talks with both Kovacic himself as well as Manchester City, and then a decision will be made on whether the club managed by Mourinho will make an attempt to sign him.
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Kovacic signed for City last summer in a £25 million switch from Chelsea and helped the club win another Premier League title under Guardiola.
He made 46 appearances in all competitions, scoring three times.
Having been given time off following his participation in Euro 2024 with Croatia, the midfielder is expected to be present in the United States with his teammates as part of the pre-season tour.
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He and compatriot Josko Gvardiol are set to join up ahead of City's second pre-season contest against AC Milan at the iconic Yankee Stadium on Saturday 27 July.
Samuel Eto'o (Barca to Inter) is the only other example of Mourinho buying a player from Guardiola in the summer of 2009 when Barcelona themselves signed Maxwell and Zlatan Ibrahimovic from Barca in a swap deal.
Eto'o went on to win a second consecutive treble.
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Additional words by Josh Lawless
Topics: Transfers, Barcelona, Inter Milan, Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Manchester City
Alex Brotherton