Bernardo Silva has given his first thoughts about Mateo Kovacic, during Manchester City’s stint in South Korea.
City have played a couple of games now in their pre-season tour of Asia.
Pep Guardiola’s side have played against Yokohama F.Marinos and Bayern Munich in Japan.
The team is now in South Korea.
And today they take on Atletico Madrid in what is sure to be a competitive affair.
City and Atletico met in the Champions League in the 2021/22 season and it was certainly feisty.
Today’s game will be another chance for City fans to get a look at new signing Mateo Kovacic, who has impressed Bernardo Silva so far.
Bernardo Silva hails Man City’s signing of Mateo Kovacic
City have filmed a new video for their website, with Kovacic, Bernardo and Kalvin Phillips all being interviewed.
At one point, Bernardo is asked what he thinks about Kovavic so far and how he has settled in.
He said: “(He’s settled in) very well. I think we welcomed him very well. He’s a very good player as well. It’s a big signing for us. One more to help us win things.”
Kovacic has impressed City fans so far.
Against Bayern Munich he operated as a holding midfielder, with John Stones supporting. Youngsters Rico Lewis and James McAtee were ahead of him.
He looked very comfortable indeed, with his technical quality allowing him lots of time and space with the ball.
Bernardo has echoed the thoughts of Phil Foden about Kovacic. The 23-year-old stated earlier this week that the new signing already ‘looks at home’ at City, believing he’s settled nicely.
Kovacic will be brilliant for City
The early signs over Kovacic are very good.
The Croatian international felt like a solid signing at the time, and he is already showing that he will be a great fit.
£150,000-a-week star Kovacic had apparently been on Pep Guardiola’s radar for some time.
It is easy to understand why. The star is very press-resistant, and he can easily wriggle out of tight spots which is a very useful skill.
It’s going to be interesting to see just how much he features in his first season at the club.
Quite possible, he could become another Manuel Akanji in that, most expect him to be a rotation player, but he could actually turn out to be a key starter.
