Pep Guardiola has confirmed that Josko Gvardiol is undergoing his Manchester City medical on Friday afternoon.
After weeks of protracted negotiations, City and RB Leipzig reached an agreement for the £77.5m transfer of Gvardiol.
The sum is a fixed fee and is less than Leipzig’s original asking price of €100m (£90m), and the deal does not include any add-ons.
Gvardiol reportedly agreed to personal terms with City over one month ago and is expected to sign a five-year contract with the option of an additional 12 months.
Tensions between City and Leipzig developed a few weeks ago when it was widely reported that the 21-year-old was set to undergo a medical before a deal had been agreed.
However, City boss has now confirmed that Gvardiol has flown to Manchester and is undergoing his medical on Friday.
When asked about Gvardiol during his pre-match press conference ahead of Sunday’s Community Shield clash against Arsenal at Wembley, Pep confirmed the defender was in the building at that very moment.
“Regarding [Josko] Gvardiol, he is doing a medical test and everyone knows he is here. Hopefully we can finish the deal in the next few days,” he said.
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Having missed out on transfer targets including Declan Rice and Jude Bellingham this summer, City were desperate to get the Gvardiol deal across the line.
Guardiola regards the Croatian centre-back as one of the best players in the world in his position and sees him fitting into his system perfectly.
The City boss was clearly in a good mood when speaking to the media on Friday, joking with reporters: “What a beautiful surname he [Gvardiol] has.”
Gvardiol is unlikely to make his City debut in the Community Shield on Sunday, but he could be in contention to feature in the Premier League curtain-raiser against Burnley on Friday.
