Chelsea set June 30 deadline to decide on whether to sign £44m Real Madrid midfielder Mateo Kovacic

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Chelsea have a deadline of June 30 to sign Real Madrid midfielder Mateo Kovacic.  

The Blues will not be able to secure him on a permanent deal after that point as his loan will have expired and their transfer ban is in place, according to Diario AS. 

Kovacic spent last season at Stamford Bridge and the Croatian's future may be one of the first items on the agenda for Frank Lampard, who is expected to be announced as the new manager on Wednesday.  

Chelsea have until the end of June to decide whether to buy Mateo Kovacic 

Kovacic is a registered Chelsea player as part of the loan and the ban allows them to make permanent anyone already on the books. 

The FIFA-imposed ban on signing players for the next two transfer windows may force the club's hand as they look to add quality this summer. 

Kovacic was a mainstay in the side last season under Maurizio Sarri and made 51 appearances in all competitions. 

It is thought that Real would expect £44million for Kovacic and Inter Milan are also monitoring the situation.

The Croatian starred for Chelsea in their Europa League victory over Arsenal last month