Mateo Kovacic joined Pep Guardiola earlier today for press duties ahead of the pre-season friendly versus Atletico Madrid.
Media duties! 🎙️ pic.twitter.com/CqnUM48kUK
— Manchester City (@ManCity) July 29, 2023
The Croatian made his debut for the Blues during a pre-season game against sister club Yokohama. Despite playing just two halves in two games – against Yokohama and Bayern Munich – he has impressed Manchester City supporters.
Kovacic has settled in well. Already Pep has tested him in various positions and he is illustrating his worth.
Linking up and advancing the play well, and impressively driving forward with the ball. He does not look short of confidence, nor ability.
Interestingly, during the game versus Bayern Munich he started ahead of Phillips and Rodri in a holding position. Undoubtedly, this was Guardiola testing the ability of his new player.
While he did the job okay, his better position thus far has seemed to be that of a more advanced midfield position. Box-to-box.
Speaking at a press conference earlier today about his short time with the Blues so far, Kovacic said – as quoted by ManCity.com:
“I am only here for two weeks now but you can see straight away that he has clear ideas of what he is looking for.
“It is on another level. I came here to learn, and I think he is the best coach in the world. And to learn from him is a good feeling especially for a midfielder.
“He can teach me the best times to move. This is also why I came here. To learn to be a better version of myself.”
