Journalist Alasdair Gold has suggested that Manchester City could seal an £85m transfer deal for Josko Gvardiol this summer as a potential replacement for Aymeric Laporte.
Earlier this month, it was claimed by Fabrizio Romano that the Citizens are advancing on a deal for the RB Leipzig defender, with negotiations on personal terms progressing well.
Now though, one journalist has spoken about the Croatian and how City’s interest has all but dismissed another Premier League club’s chances of landing a deal for him.
Gold drops Gvardiol claim
Speaking in a recent video on his YouTube channel, Gold said then when discussing Gvardiol and the likelihood that he is no longer in Tottenham Hotspur’s reach in terms of signing him this summer after their previous reported interest.
He said: “I remember saying it and I’m sure I wrote it in articles, back then, Gvardiol, it was always likely Man City would be leading the chase for him if he were to come onto the market, which he didn’t back then and it sounds like, reportedly, they’re going to tie up a £85m deal for him. He’s only 21 as well, I think he’s going to be Laporte’s replacement by the sound of it.”
After impressing for his country in the previous World Cup in Qatar, Gvardiol ended his latest Bundesliga campaign with Leipzig with the highest passing accuracy percentage (89.1%) out of players that made more than two passes at the club.
In terms of being a potential replacement for Laporte, the current City defender has been mentioned with a move away from the club this summer, with the likes of Chelsea and Bayern Munich looking at him.
With that in mind, if the Manchester club do end up seeing the 29-year-old leave during the current transfer window, bringing in Gvardiol as a long-term replacement could end up being a smart bit of business.
Moving forward, if Pep Guardiola’s side end up sealing a deal for the Leipzig defender in the coming weeks, it’ll be interesting to see what Laporte’s next step could be.
