Chelsea accidentally reveal permanent signing of Mateo Kovacic on club's app

Chelsea suffered major embarrassment on Saturday night when they accidentally announced the signing of Mateo Kovacic on the club's mobile app.

The Croatian is expected to complete a permanent move to Stamford Bridge from Real Madrid imminently after spending last season on loan with the Premier League side.

However, with the club yet to officially confirm his arrival, fans noticed on the app that there was an article seemingly announcing he had joined.

In an interview called 'My Footballing Firsts' on the club's 'The Fifth Stand' app, the post read: 'After securing a permanent switch to Stamford Bridge following a successful loan spell at Chelsea from Real Madrid, we caught up with Mateo Kovacic to find out what some of his first footballing memories are...' before they ran an interview with him.

Speaking about his transfer, Kovacic said: 'It was an amazing feeling to sign for Chelsea, first on loan and now permanently.

'It is a fantastic club, with great team-mates and we play a good style of football.

'I am very happy to be staying here and very proud to be a Chelsea player.'

The Blues are currently faced with a two-window transfer ban but they are able to recruit players who are on loan at the club as they have already been registered with FIFA.
Real Madrid were thought to be demanding £44million for the Croatian playmaker, who joined the club on loan from the Spanish giants last summer. Chelsea are believed to be paying around £40m.

Kovacic was well used by former manager Maurizio Sarri, making 51 appearances as the club secured qualification for the Champions League with a third-place finish in the Premier League and then triumphed over Arsenal in the Europa League final.

The club were faced with a deadline of June 30 to secure Kovacic permanently, as beyond that date his loan would have expired, according to Diario AS.

But the agreement means the midfielder could be become the first official signing of the Frank Lampard era, as the Blues are also close to appointing the Derby County boss as a replacement for Sarri.

Club legend Lampard, 41, is in discussions regarding a return to Chelsea, a club where he made 648 appearances and remains their club record scorer with 211 goals.

He guided Derby to the play-offs last season but missed out on promotion to Aston Villa in the final last month.

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