Manchester City ‘under pressure from THREE Premier League rivals’ to complete £86m Josko Gvardiol deal with ‘Man United, Chelsea and Liverpool all waiting in the wings to strike’
- Three English clubs are poised to hijack Man City’s move to Joso Gvardiol
- Manchester United, Chelsea and Liverpool are all ready to “fight tooth and nail” for him
- Pep Guardiola’s side remains the favorite to sign him after much speculation
Manchester City are reportedly facing competition from Liverpool, Chelsea and Manchester United if they make a bid for RB Leipzig centre-back Josko Gvardiol.
Pep Guardiola’s side have been linked with the £86 million defender for some time, with German side City now given an August 12 deadline to complete a transfer for the Croatia international.
Gvardiol, whose outstanding performance at the 2022 World Cup earned him a lot of attention from parties across Europe, could now be the subject of a four-way bidding war.
That reports the Spanish news center Fichajesclaiming that ‘Manchester United, Chelsea and Liverpool have arrived on the scene and are ready to deprive City of the chance to sign the centre-back’.
They add that “negotiations between Man City and the German club have stalled somewhat, which has opened up an opportunity for other clubs,” claiming that the three English sides have “made offers to try and steal Gvardiol.”
Manchester City led the way to sign Josko Gvardiol (pictured) but are under increasing pressure from Manchester United, Chelsea and Liverpool
Reports suggest a stagnation in deal negotiations may have set Pep Guardiola’s side a step back, while the three other Premier League sides all entered the race to sign him.
While Harry Maguire holds the record as the world’s most expensive defender after joining United from Leicester for a milestone £80 million in 2019, the race to sign Gvardiol could push his price much further.
The 21-year-old joined the Bundesliga from Dinamo Zagreb in 2021 and has since made 87 appearances for the club.
He made 30 appearances in the Bundesliga last season and appeared in all but two of Leipzig’s Champions League games, most notably scoring the equalizer in their 1-1 draw against Manchester City in February.
Mail Sport reported last week that the Treble winners have reached the final stages of talks with the German team to sign him, while Pep Guardiola has also eyed Lyon’s Abdoulaye Ndiaye.
Meanwhile, Manchester United have also been linked with two younger prospects today, with Erik ten Hag rekindling his interest in Everton’s Jean-Clair Todibo and Jarrad Branthwaite.
Chelsea are another club that have long been interested in signing the Croat, and according to Fichajes, he will, along with Man United and Liverpool, “fight tooth and nail to win over the promising defender”.
Jurgen Klopp’s Liverpool (pictured) are in the race to sign him, while the Reds are also keen to sign Romeo Lavia
Mauricio Pochettino’s (pictured) side is also keen on signing Lavia and Gvardiol,
Meanwhile, Erik ten Hag (pictured) has also been eyeing new defenders amid uncertainty over Harry Maguire’s future at the club
Man City midfielder Mateo Kovacic spoke on the way and said his Croatian team-mate, Gvardiol, is ready to take the next step in his career and join him at the Etihad Stadium.
“Josko has great potential,” Kovacic said after joining the club this summer for £25m.
“He can come here and learn and become the best version of himself. I would love it of course – I’m a good friend of his and he’s Croatian. It would be nice to have a Croat by my side here.
“He’s played a lot of big games. He is ready for this step’
“I think it’s a good time (to go to City). They are on a roll, a very confident team and one you can learn from. They may have the best manager in history. So I came here to join a great group and try to learn.
“He’s still young, but he’s grown up. He doesn’t need much advice. He had a great World Cup and a great season with Leipzig.’
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