Nedum Onuoha has shared his thoughts on Manchester City’s proposed transfer move for Josko Gvardiol.
Earlier this week, it was reported that the Citizens are stepping up their attempts to sign the RB Leipzig defender, who Pep Guardiola apparently wants as a replacement for Aymeric Laporte, who is expected to be leaving the club this summer.
Now, one former City defender has shared his thoughts on this potential deal.
Onuoha assesses potential Gvardiol transfer
Speaking in a recent video on the ESPN FC YouTube channel, Onuoha said this when asked about City looking to bring in Gvardiol as a potential replacement for Laporte.
He said: “I think when you see or hear the staff about Laporte potentially leaving, then yes, you don’t really like to see one leave and then nothing come back in.
“But it also feels like that’s a section where they’ve been quite strong anyway. I think [Nathan] Ake did a great job at left-back and there have been times where [Manuel] Akanji has done it and so on and I thought maybe they’d lean towards more that side.
“But Gvardiol is one of the biggest prospects in world football at this moment in time and if you can bring in someone of that sort of age, then you’re not just buying him for two, three years, this can be a guy, like other City players can be there for five, six, seven, eight years.
“I do like it, I’d be interested to see what Guardiola’s go-to team will be come October, November time, because at the start of the season, it could be anything.
“I think it’s an exciting signing, I think the fee is the standard fee for whatever people can pay these days. I like it, I like to see good players come to the Premier League and going to City.”
Since joining the German club back in the summer of 2021, the centre-back has played in 87 games across all competitions, scoring five goals and providing three assists along the way.
In terms of his defensive work across the 30 Bundesliga appearances he made last season, the Croatian racked up the second-highest number of clearances (76) made at Leipzig as well as the third-highest number of interceptions (34).
Taking into account how City currently have the joint-second smallest squad (25) in the Premier League, it’s easy to see why Onuoha thinks that if Laporte does end up leaving this summer, the club will need to make sure they bring in a replacement so they aren’t lacking in that area.
Moving forward, if City are able to strike a deal with Leipzig to sign Gvardiol this summer, we agree with Onuoha that this could be a great bit of business from them and give the team a top long-term figure.
