Star player insists on Chelsea stay .

Chelsea midfielder Mateo Kovacic wants to stay at the club beyond his loan spell with the West London giants.

Kovacic, 24, talked about his desire to make his loan move permanent in a recent interview monitored by popular media outlet ESPN.

Mateo Kovacic is on a season-long loan deal from Champions League holders Real Madrid.

The Croatian international star sealed a loan move to Chelsea as part of the deal that took ex-Blues shot stopper Thibaut Courtois to Real Madrid in the summer.

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Kovacic became a Chelsea player shortly after playing a part in his country’s surprise run to the final of this summer’s FIFA World Cup tournament in Russia.

Croatia stunned many football stakeholders by reaching the final before they were beaten by the eventual champions France.

The French team won a second World Cup title with a 4-2 win over the Croatians in their final clash in July.

Since his move to Chelsea this summer, Mateo Kovacic has been a mainstay in the Blues’ team that has surged to the Champions League places on the Premier League table.

He was part of the Real Madrid squad that won three successive Champions League titles with the help of French football legend Zinedine Zidane.