A UEFA Champions League winner with two different teams, a league title winner in two different countries and a World Cup finalist with Croatia in 2018, his experience at the top of the game was undeniable.
But while he’d tasted European success with previous employers Chelsea, a Premier League title had proven elusive for the midfielder after five years in English football.
Kovacic addressed that in his debut campaign at City, playing an important role in helping Pep Guardiola’s men over the line to a historic fourth league crown in a row.
While not a direct replacement, the comparisons between the Croatian and departing captain Ilkay Gundogan were understandable, with both having often been the driving force from the engine room for club and country over the past decade.
To put such pressure on Kovacic’s shoulders so early in his City career would be unfair, but the midfielder’s experience, steel and quality certainly played a key role in helping us pip Arsenal to the post in 2023/24, and secure the UEFA Super Cup and FIFA Club World Cup.
Just three games into his time in blue, the Croatian had another trophy to add to his sizeable cabinet in the form of the Super Cup, playing the full 90 minutes and scoring from the spot as City beat Sevilla 6-5 in a penalty shootout.
In the absence of Kevin De Bruyne, the midfielder stepped up to the plate in the early weeks of the season, starting our opening four Premier League matches before picking up an injury during the September international break.
After another brief spell on the sidelines in late November, the Croatian would grab his first goal for the Club in our FIFA Club World Cup triumph over Urawa Red Diamonds, firing home our second in a 3-0 semi-final win.
Matchday Live pundit and former City star Izzy Christiansen was particularly impressed by the performance, describing Kovacic as a ‘microwave midfielder’: “You heat him up for two minutes and he’s ready.”
It was a very astute observation of why the Croatian had, and continues to be, so important to Guardiola’s set-up.
His intelligence, power and versatility meant that Kovacic was regularly be trusted in all three of City’s midfield roles.
The defensive midfielder if Rodrigo was unavailable? Kovacic. The engine that brings the ball forward and drives the team on? Kovacic. The creator getting forward and playing between the lines? When called up, Kovacic.
Rarely the star of the show, the Croatian quietly and diligently went about his business and helped the team tick over, especially in the second half of the campaign.
Indeed, when City hit our stride in the new year, avoiding defeat for the remainder of the Premier League season, so too did Kovacic.
He grabbed his second goal of the season with a vicious drive from distance in the FA Cup, rounding off the scoring in a 6-2 win over Luton Town in February 2024.
And he’d find the net against the Hatters once again two months later, sweeping home perhaps his finest strike so far for the Club from a set-piece situation.
Meeting Julian Alvarez’s short corner on the half-volley, the Croatian sent a sumptuous drive from just inside the box into the roof of the Luton net to double our advantage early in the second half.
It was a stunning strike, and one that demonstrated his incredible technical quality in devastating fashion.
Things didn’t all go to plan for Kovacic in 2023/24, with the midfielder one of the unfortunate players to see their penalty saved in our shootout defeat to Real Madrid in the Champions League quarter-finals.
But, just as City did, the Croatian shook off that disappointment to help Guardiola’s men over the line in our pursuit of a fourth successive Premier League title.
Bar an appearance from the bench against Nottingham Forest, Kovacic started all of our final six league fixtures leading up to a final day cameo against West Ham United.
That included City’s crucial 2-0 win over Tottenham Hotspur in our penultimate clash of the campaign.
A stadium where we’d famously failed to score a single Premier League goal in three previous visits, an Erling Haaland brace provided Guardiola’s men with a precious three points.
It was far from a routine win though, and Kovacic more than played his part, particularly in the second half, to help see City over the line.
Once again, the Croatian had stepped up when it mattered, and more than earned that first Premier League winners’ medal to add to his incredible collection.
2023/24 stats
Appearances: 46
Starts: 30
Minutes: 2,727
Goals: 3
Assists: 1
In his own words
“I’ve enjoyed my time here. The team is amazing, and manager is great. I am still learning, improving and adapting.
“It’s really nice to be here. You can learn a lot here – even at my age. At 29/30, you can still improve and be a better player and that’s the reason I came here.”
Pep on Kovacic
“When he plays, because we play in a certain way, he was really good.
“His contribution, especially in the last games was massively important, he changed the games. In that terms, he’s really, really good.”
