Chelsea midfielder Mateo Kovacic has revealed that Blues boss Maurizio Sarri was the main reason he chose to move to Stamford Bridge instead of other interested clubs.
Kovacic joined Chelsea on a season-long loan deal from Real Madrid on transfer deadline day, with many seeing the capture of the highly-rated midfielder as a major coup for the London club.
24-year-old Croatia international Kovacic moved to the Bernabeu for £25 million in 2015 from Inter Milan, although rather unsurprisingly he has struggled to dislodge Los Blancos superb midfield triumphant of Luka Modric, Toni Kroos, and Casemiro.
He was therefore desperate to leave the Spanish capital this summer in search of regular first-team football and turned down offers from a host of Europe’s top clubs to move to Stamford Bridge.
“It was important that after three years of inconsistency in playing time in Madrid I’ve got into a team that wants me and a coach who wants and trusts me.’’ Kovacic told Sport Klub.
“That’s how Chelsea happened. That’s what I really need now and I want to keep it that way.
“He’s known me for a long time and that’s what matters in my opinion.
“The squad is phenomenal with many great players – that is why is wasn’t so hard to adapt quickly.”