Croatia international Josko Gvardiol is nearing a move to Manchester City from Red Bull Leipzig after both clubs came to terms on a £78 million deal.
The 21-year-old defender, who is considered one of the best centrebacks in the world, is set to sign a long-term deal with the treble winners in the coming days. The fee is £2 million short of the world-record fee that Leicester City received for Harry Maguire from Manchester United in 2019.
The news was first broken by transfer news insider Fabrizio Romano in mid-July but was debunked by representatives from the German Bundesliga side. It turns out that they wished to keep the deal under wraps until it was completed.
Reports now indicate that Pep Guardiola is pushing for the deal to be completed before Manchester City meet Arsenal on Sunday in the FA Community Shield, which officially signifies the start of the 2023/24 Premier League season.
Gvardiol was not in the matchday squads for RB Leipzig’s pre-season games against Belgian club Sint-Truidense VV and German lower-tier side VSG Altglienicke as a result of the move being finalised. He is expected to travel down to England on Friday to carry out his medicals and complete the deal by putting pen to paper.
The details of the deal are still yet to be known but his signing will be a long-term one. This, it is understood, is geared towards replicating the success of Vincent Kompany, who spent over a decade at City, eventually bowing out as club captain with a haul of trophies in Manchester City’s golden years.
Gvardiol’s boyhood club Dinamo Zagreb, are set to receive 20% of the transfer fee thanks to the sell-on clause they inserted in their deal with Leipzig. The 2021 FIFA World Cup third-place winner played 52 senior matches for Zagreb and won two top-flight titles before moving to Germany in 2021 to play for Leipzig.
At Leipzig, he came up against his future side Manchester City, on two occasions in the UEFA Champions League. He lost on both times by wide margins. He has also reached the round of 16 in the competition. He will now join Guardiola and co in their bid to replicate Real Madrid’s effort and defend their Champions League title as well as compete for a fourth straight Premier League title.
Meanwhile, it was revealed that the Croatian defender could have been lining up at City’s rivals Man United instead. The Red Devils reportedly had him on a shortlist of defenders to sign last season but opted for Lisandro Martinez.
The deal has worked out for Erik ten Hag’s side so far but it will be interesting to see what kind of player Gvardiol becomes under Guardiola and the discussions that will follow in the media and fan spaces.
