Manchester City finally close to adding world-class defender for record fee
By Evan Curnew
Josko Gvardiol to Manchester City felt like a matter of time, and then things all of a sudden went quiet. Fabrizio Romano even gave it a ‘here we go,’ stating a medical was being completed over a week ago, but then things were backtracked.
As The Top Flight reported earlier this summer, if Josko Gvardiol were to move to Manchester City, RB Leipzig would be searching for a record fee for a centre-back. Harry Maguire from Leicester City to Manchester United at £75m is the current record. In what will be great news for City fans, there finally looks to be an update on the Josko Gvardiol situation.
Fabrizio Romano is reporting that Manchester City and RB Leipzig are actively discussing a transfer of Gvardiol. Romano believes there still is a verbal agreement between the clubs but that work needs to be done to finalize it. Things such as money paid to Gvardiol’s former club Dinamo Zagreb and a future sell-on percentage are yet to be discussed. The key point to Romano’s reporting is that a deal could be wrapped up by next week.
Josko Gvardiol is regarded as one of the best young defenders in the world and is expected to be the next generational talent out of Croatia. The 21-year-old defender has spent the last two seasons at Bundesliga side RB Leipzig, having joined them in 2021 from Dinamo Zagreb.
Aymeric Laporte is likely to be replaced by Josko Gvardiol, who will line up alongside defensive stalwart Ruben Dias. Guardiola is also not a stranger to starting three natural centre-backs, where someone like Nathan Ake could be the one starting out left with Gvardiol down the middle. Laporte could be moved this window with Gvardiol coming in, with Crystal Palace reportedly wanting to make a shock move for the Spanish international.