RB Leipzig wants record fee for Josko Gvardiol from Manchester City

After winning the UEFA Champions League, Manchester City is looking to bolster their central defense. They are linked with RB Leipzig’s Josko Gvardiol for whom the German club is expecting a world-record bid

According to the rumour mill, the treble winners of the 2022/23 season, Manchester City are exploring an option to secure the services of Josko Gvardiol. As it stands, the German outfit is all set to demand a record fee of £75 million to sell the player to the European champions.

"RB Leipzig will demand a fee of at least £75million to sell defender Josko Gvardiol to Manchester City(Via: talkSPORT)"

In addition to pursuing the acquisition of central defender Josko Gvardiol, Manchester City is also rumoured to be interested in Chelsea midfielder Mateo Kovacic. Meanwhile, the Cityzens are currently focused on extending the contract of their captain, Ilkay Gundogan.

Josko Gvardiol’s 2022/23 season

The 21-year-old central defender featured in 30 German top-flight fixtures for RB Leipzig and had one goal contribution. The ball-playing central defender improved his passing statistics with an approximately six percent higher pass completion rate compared to the previous season. Gvardiol had a pass completion rate of 89.1% in the current season compared to 83.4% in the last one.

The Croatian defender is a great reader of the game, with the player accounting for 1.41 interceptions per 90. Josko Gvardiol also accounted for 0.71 tackles per 90 in the German top flight.

The 21-year-old grabbed the eyeballs with his stupendous performance at the FIFA World Cup in Qatar. In seven games, the player had a goal to his name and accounted for an 89.4% pass percentage. He didn’t flinch twice before putting a tackle in the quadrennial event. He had 0.78 tackles per 90 alongside 1.43 interceptions per game. The 6’1″ defender was awarded “Man of the Match” for his performance in the third-place decider. Josko Gvardiol was widely regarded as one of the most promising young defenders and was linked with Chelsea and Manchester United during the winter transfer window.

(Stats via fbref)

Adding Josko Gvardiol to their defensive setup will set Manchester City’s defense for decades to come. It remains interesting to see if Manchester City will break the bank to secure his services.