Manchester City are reportedly not concerned by the slow progress in negotiations regarding Josko Gvardiol.
That’s according to The Athletic’s Manchester City correspondent Sam Lee, who has reported that a move for the defender is still expected to happen.
City entered the summer transfer with three main targets: Mateo Kovacic, Declan Rice and Gvardiol.
The Kovacic deal was wrapped up pretty quickly, with City paying Chelsea £25m for the Croatian midfielder.
Kovacic was brought in as a replacement for Ilkay Gundogan, but he is also expected to play in a deeper role when needed.
Rice was always going to be more difficult, especially considering City’s reluctance to meet West Ham’s £105m asking price.
City set a limit and stuck to it, and the 24-year-old England international joined Arsenal instead.
City not worried
That leaves Gvardiol, a 21-year-old centre-back with the potential to become the best defender in the world.
City and RB Leipzig have been negotiating for weeks, with the Bundesliga side said to want around £86m.
It’s understood that the current sticking point and hold-up in the move relates to the payment structure of the deal and potential add-ons, rather than the transfer fee itself.
Gvardiol reportedly agreed to personal terms with City over a month ago, but he has reported to pre-season training with Leipzig and doesn’t appear to be going anywhere soon.
Some City fans are beginning to think the move might collapse, but Lee has assured them that there is no need to panic.
He reported in The Athletic that Gvardiol’s move to City is “expected to happen”, and that there is “no alarm about the situation at City.”
It’s possible that the situation is holding up talks between City and Bayern Munich over Kyle Walker.
That’s because, as explained by Lee, once City sign Gvardiol, “they will have extra cover at centre-back and left-back, freeing up [John] Stones, [Manuel] Akanji and [Rico] Lewis to play on the right [in place of Walker].
