Although it has been nine years since the midfielder last played here for them, Kovacic has never forgotten his ties to Dinamo and has enjoyed his return so far, despite being inundated with ticket requests from friends and family wanting to be present for his reunion with the Zagreb side at the Stadion Maksimir in the Champions League.

‘It’s really nice to be here,’ said Kovacic, speaking to the media at Maksimir before the Chelsea training session at the stadium on the eve of our match against Dinamo. ‘It was a really good feeling to be in Zagreb, to see all the people that I haven’t seen in a long time.

‘I’m really looking forward to the match tomorrow, to seeing a full stadium. I am a Dinamo fan of course, but now I’m on the opposite side.

‘My family is coming, my friends are coming. Everybody is very excited, maybe even more excited than me, to come and watch me at Maksimir. There was a lot of people asking for tickets but I’m glad that I have been able to get so many tickets for them.’

The Croatian international also gave his verdict on Dinamo Zagreb’s current status after they beat Bodo/Glimt to qualify for the Champions League group stage, as well as explaining how he has been explaining to his fellow Blues the fierce atmosphere they can expect at Maksimir for this match.

‘Dinamo is growing from day to day. Dinamo are working phenomenally, I know it from my own experience, they play in Europe every year with us in the group stages. It will be a tough match tomorrow.

‘I know when Dinamo feels their fans are standing behind them and the stadium is full they will play a really good game. I know that the atmosphere tomorrow will be excellent. I know what we are expecting tomorrow and Dinamo will be excellent.

‘Everybody is asking me about Dinamo because not many of them have played at Maksimir before. They saw Villarreal against Hajduk Split and they were asking about the atmosphere, if it will be the same here in Zagreb. They know how much us Croats love football and how much we cheer for our clubs. So we know what to expect, a great Dinamo and even better fans.’

Just before Kovacic spoke to the media, Thomas Tuchel had been discussing the chances of new signing Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang making his Chelsea debut in this match, and Kovacic spoke about what he expects the striker to bring to the team.

‘He is a great player, as we know. He has scored goals everywhere so we are looking forward to having him in our squad and he will be a big addition for Chelsea because he’s a proper striker and goalscorer, which we’ve missed in the last years. We haven’t had that goalscorer who scores 20 or 25 goals per season, which you need to win the title.

‘So I’m looking forward to having him in our squad. He will be a big addition, that’s for sure, and he’s a proven goalscorer. For him it is normal to score goals and I hope he will do it here at Chelsea as well.’

The midfielder finished by providing an update on his return to full fitness after missing the start of this season through injury, believing he is gradually approaching his peak again despite a difficult build-up to the campaign.

‘I am getting better, my fitness is getting better,’ he added. ‘I had some problems with my knee after playing with the national team in pre-season, so it was a tough pre-season for me but now I am recovered and getting better day by day. I need to get still my sharpness and fitness back but training and games are there for it, so I’m looking forward to being better every day.’