Josko Gvardiol or “Little Pep” is headed to the team of Pep Guardiola- provided Manchester City and RB Leipzig can reach a deal on his transfer fee.
The Croatian sensation agreed to personal terms with City, awhile ago, but the 21-year-old will cost City a pretty penny.
Manchester City are preparing an official bid for Joško Gvardiol. ??? #MCFC
Understand verbal approaches for €75m plus add-ons were rejected by Leipzig — talks continue.
Leipzig always wanted at least €100m for Gvardiol.
Personal terms 100% agreed as revealed 10 days ago. pic.twitter.com/IRYviTgJj7
— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) July 3, 2023
According to The Guardian, Leipzig are seeking north of €100m (£86m) for the defender who still has four years left on his deal. (He signed a contract extension last summer, in order to ward off interest from Chelsea)
That’s right- not just 100 million Euro, but actually 100m+, and if they get it, we’d have a new record for transfer fee paid for a defender.
City have pockets that run as deep, if not deeper, than anybody else in world football.
Leipzig sporting director Max Eberl admitted that Gvardiol submitted a transfer request this summer. However, he didn’t say much more beyond that.
“Josko and his advisors have submitted the wish to us for a transfer to Manchester City,” Eberl said to the Leipziger Volkszeitung newspaper.
“We are in talks with Manchester. There is nothing more to say about it at this moment.”
Stay tuned, as this one might take a bit yet, before it gets over the line.
Paul M. Banks is the owner/manager of The Sports Bank. He’s also the author of “Transatlantic Passage: How the English Premier League Redefined Soccer in America,” and “No, I Can’t Get You Free Tickets: Lessons Learned From a Life in the Sports Media Industry.”
He’s written for numerous publications, including the New York Daily News, Sports Illustrated and the Chicago Tribune. He regularly appears on NTD News and WGN News Now. Follow the website on Twitter and Instagram.
