Manchester City are close to completing their squad for the 2023/24 season.
Ilkay Gundogan and Riyad Mahrez have left. But Mateo Kovacic and Josko Gvardiol have already signed, with Jeremy Doku on the verge of following the Croatian duo.
City are thought to still be in the market for a midfielder.
It’s been a decent start to the new season so far.
While City narrowly lost the Community Shield to Arsenal, it’s two wins from two games in the Premier League, with no goals conceded.
City also beat Sevilla on penalties last week to win the UEFA Super Cup for the first time.
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City are far from being in top gear yet.
But there have been some good early signs.
And there are two players for City who have really formed a great connection so far this season…
Mateo Kovacic and Phil Foden are a great combination as impressive statistic emerges
Kovacic has really impressed since coming in from Chelsea.
Many felt he would slot in fairly easily, given his brilliant technical ability.
But he really has been superb so far, and a statistic has emerged from the Newcastle game at the weekend to suggest there’s one City player he particularly enjoys sharing the field with.
According to the official Premier League, Kovacic found Phil Foden with forward passes on 10 occasions against the Magpies.
Its analysis describes Kovacic as a ‘brave’ player on the ball.
Foden was operating as a number 10 on Saturday, and he was absolutely amazing in that role.
He constantly found space between the lines, and Kovacic was often the one picking him out.
And of course, City’s goal came about because of great vision from Kovacic to find the England international, who squared for Julian Alvarez to score.
Kovacic and Foden are a dream pairing
It was clear to see that Kovacic and Foden enjoyed Saturday.
Foden is one of the best players in the league at finding space between the lines.
And Kovacic is one of the best players in the league at breaking the lines, whether that’s with a pass or a dribble.
It’s still very early days for Kovacic at City after his £30 million transfer. But he already looks like he’s been playing in this team for years.
And Foden is going to absolutely relish having the 29-year-old just in behind him.