TalkSPORT journalist, Alex Crook, has shared the latest update regarding Manchester City’s transfer pursuit of Josko Gvardiol.
Yesterday, it was reported that talks are ongoing between City and Leipzig over a potential deal for the defender, who the German club want at least €100m (£86m) for.
Now, some behind-the-scenes details have emerged on the matter and what progress had been made.
Crook shares Gvardiol update
Speaking on talkSPORT this morning, Crook had this to say if there had been any overnight updates on this particular transfer saga.
He said: “Not really. I think City are readying their offer, there have been verbal communications.
“They are going to have to pay top dollar, Leipzig [are] holding out for around £85m, that would be a world-record fee for a defender and they’ve already sold [Christopher] Nkunku to Chelsea and, of course, [Dominik] Szoboszlai to Liverpool this summer Leipzig so they’re in a fairly strong bargaining position, they’re not desperate to sell for the cash.
“I think Gvardiol, on his part, is keen to make the move to Manchester City, as you would be, but there’s still a bit of bargaining to be done.”
Last season saw the 21-year-old feature in all but four of Leipzig’s 34 Bundesliga matches, which highlights how important he is for the team and why the club would presumably be keen to keep hold of him and only consider selling him for a significant fee.
Across those 30 league appearances, the Croatian managed to rack up the highest passing accuracy percentage (89.1%) in the Leipzig squad out of players that attempted more than two passes.
Bearing in mind how four City defenders ended the previous Premier League campaign in the top 10 of players with the highest passing accuracy percentages in the division, this shows why the Manchester club are keen on adding Gvardiol to their squad.
Moving forward, if City are keen on securing a deal for the Leipzig star in this window, this could be one where they may not have much room to negotiate if the German club are adamant about getting the fee they want for him.
