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Mateo Kovacic is in his second year at Chelsea. He first joined last season on loan from Real Madrid, before the Blues permanently signed him during the summer transfer window.

Kovacic has looked back at his time with Real Madrid and has admitted that he didn’t make progress at the Santiago Bernabeu because of lack of continuity. At Madrid, he was sometimes used as a deep-lying playmaker or occasionally a box-to-box No.8.

At Chelsea, it seems he has found his spot in the team, whether in a central two or a three, and Kovacic has admitted that he’s enjoying his football.

He told the official Chelsea website: “Of course it’s better to have consistency in your position. To move around the pitch is not so good, when you’re playing one year there, and another year there.

“That has also been a bit of a problem in my career. Everything happened too fast for me. I had three great and difficult years in Madrid. I played, didn’t play, I didn’t get the continuity that I needed and what I have now here. I enjoyed it, we won three Champions Leagues, but Chelsea is coming in the best moment of my career. It has been the most important switch for now and I’m really pleased with that.”