Saudi Arabia place fresh transfer offers on the table for Manchester City veteran | OneFootball

Mateo Kovacic is attracting strong interest from Saudi Arabia as he enters the final 18 months of his Manchester City contract, as per a new report.

The Croatia international turns 32 in May and having spent nearly three months out injured, there is doubt over whether Kovacic will stay at the Etihad Stadium into the final year of his current deal.

City are fighting on four fronts in their first season under director of football Hugo Viana, who has made sweeping changes to Pep Guardiola’s first-team squad since replacing long-serving executive Txiki Begiristain.

Rodri has played regularly in the last month since recovering from the latest of a series of injuries that have bothered the 29-year-old Spaniard for 18 months, with Nico Gonzalez filling in as a capable deputy in the absence of the Ballon d’Or winner since his arrival from Porto in January 2025.

However, Manchester City are dangerously short in the defensive midfield position and club bosses are therefore prioritising the addition of a capable number six in the summer transfer window amid strong interest in Nottingham Forest and England star Elliot Anderson.

Newcastle United’s Sandro Tonali also has suitors at the Etihad Stadium, with Viana expected to progress Manchester City’s rebuild after adding a series of new players to the first-team squad in the recent set of transfer windows.

Rodri has under 18 months left on his current deal at the Etihad Stadium and so does Kovacic, who was linked with a departure amid a mass exodus from the senior squad conducted by Viana last summer in the backdrop of a poor 2024-25 season for Manchester City.

Kovacic is expected to return to training in March and unlike his compatriot Josko Gvardiol – who suffered a tibial fracture on his right leg in January and has since undergone surgery – the 31-year-old is not facing a race against time as such to prove his fitness ahead of the FIFA World Cup in United States, Canada and Mexico.

It remains to be seen what Manchester City’s outlook will be towards Kovacic staying into the final year of his contract, with the Blues unlikely to offer the midfielder a new deal as things stand.

According to the information of Manchester City insider ‘Tolmie’s Hairdoo‘ on X, Kovacic has fresh offers on the table from Saudi Arabia but would prefer to stay in Europe following the upcoming FIFA World Cup.

On the continent, it is claimed that Italian giants AC Milan and Juventus have both held early talks with those representing the Croatian international ahead of the summer transfer market.

Bernardo Silva, John Stones, Nathan Ake, Manuel Akanji and Jack Grealish are all expected to leave Manchester City in the summer, with club bosses also set to learn Guardiola’s intentions on the final year of his own contract as and when the season comes to a close.