Manchester City have reached an agreement with RB Leipzig for the transfer of Josko Gvardiol, but the terms of the deal are a little different than expected.
City entered the summer transfer window with the 21-year-old centre-back right at the top of their wish list, and now it looks like they are going to get their man.
Guardiola is keen to add Gvardiol to his stable of central defenders, but over the past two weeks tensions have mounted as negotiations stalled.
Last month it was widely reported that City had agreed to personal terms with the defender and that an agreement with Leipzig was close.
However, the German club subsequently denied this and rubbished reports that Gvardiol had already undergone a medical with City.
It was reported that the sticking point in the deal related to a payment structure and add-ons, while Fabrizio Romano reported that the ‘leak’ created an issue between the clubs.
City to pay no add-ons
That all appears to have been resolved now, with the figures behind the deal reported by multiple reputable sources on Wednesday.
According to Mike Minay, City and Leipzig had agreed upon a €90m (£77.5m) fee for Gvardiol.
Contrary to previous reports, that fee is a fixed price and the agreement contains no add-ons whatsoever.
One of the terms of the deal is that City and Leipzig will play a friendly match at an unspecified date in the future, which could net the German club up to €1.5m.
Gvardiol is now expected to complete a medical at City by the end of the week, putting him in contention to be in Guardiola’s squad for City’s opening Premier League match at Burnley on August 11.
The €90m fee is less than Leipzig’s original asking price of €100m. Adjusted for exchange rates, Gvardiol (£77.5m) will not become the most expensive defender in history, as Manchester United paid £80m for Harry Maguire in 2019.
According to Minay, City believe Gvardiol represents a good investment as he is set to spend over a decade at the top level of the game.
